The small commune of L’Isle-d’Abeau, in the Isère department, laid to rest a 12-year-old girl on Wednesday after her killing last week exposed a litany of police errors. The funeral, held under heavy security at the local church, drew hundreds of mourners and a sombre display of national grief. The child, identified only as Lise, was abducted from her school on 17 March and found dead in a nearby forest 24 hours later.
Her murder has ignited fury over the handling of a prior child sexual assault case involving the same suspect, a 47-year-old convicted sex offender who was released from prison six months ago despite having nine previous convictions for crimes against minors. French interior minister Gérald Darmanin has ordered an independent inquiry after it emerged that local police failed to monitor the suspect’s movements, ignored a court order for electronic tagging, and did not act on reports of the suspect loitering near the school in the days before the abduction. The National Assembly will hold an emergency debate on Thursday to discuss systemic failures in child protection and policing.
President Emmanuel Macron, who met the victim’s family earlier this week, described the case as an “unforgivable institutional failure” and promised a comprehensive reform of the country’s sex offender registry. Data from the French Ministry of Justice shows that since 2015, 17% of all reoffences registered by sex offenders under judicial supervision have not been acted upon in time. This case has rekindled a larger debate about the balance between civil liberties and public safety, with right-wing and far-right groups calling for mandatory minimum sentences and indefinite detention for repeat offenders.
The mayor of L’Isle-d’Abeau, speaking at the funeral, said the town was “ashamed of a system that failed its most vulnerable”. Police unions, however, have blamed chronic understaffing and underfunding. “Our officers are stretched to breaking point,” said the secretary of the Alliance police union.
“We have neither the time nor the resources to tail every suspect who is supposed to be tagged.” The inspector general of the national police is to present a preliminary report within two weeks. Meanwhile, the suspect remains in custody, charged with murder, kidnapping and the sexual assault of a minor.
The case has dominated headlines across France and drawn comparisons with the 2019 murder of 8-year-old Hélène, which also followed a series of police supervisory failures.
