Tens of Thousands March Nationwide for Child Protection Law After Lyhanna Murder

Around 100,000 people marched in Paris, with solidarity gatherings in roughly 80 other cities, demanding a comprehensive law against sexual and gender-based violence in the wake of the rape and murder of 11-year-old Lyhanna Rameau Bernard in Fleurance (Gers) on May 29. The march, organized by a coalition of about 150 associations and unions including the Fondation des Femmes, called for prevention measures, specialized justice, and an annual budget of €2.6–3 billion. The case had already prompted prosecutors to be ordered to review roughly 70,000 pending complaints involving child victims, after it emerged the main suspect had faced prior unactioned complaints of sexual violence against minors.