On Monday evening on BFMTV, Gérald Darmanin acknowledged serious shortcomings in the Lyhanna case. The Minister of Justice spoke of a "Total malfunction" and "Absolutely terrifying malfunction" in the processing of the case.
« In Lyhanna's specific case, we don't need new resources or new laws. We failed. We should have collectively treated this case like any other., stated Gérald Darmanin.
He believes the authorities should have acted sooner to protect children exposed to the main suspect. "We should have first protected the children, checked that this man had not harmed his own children or been in contact with other children."
70.000 complaints to be verified
The minister reiterated the directive to review 70.000 complaints involving children by July 14th. He clarified that this did not mean closing them. "in the coming month"but to check, among these files, "How many are treated like those in the Lyhanna case?"
Gérald Darmanin explained that he wanted to identify situations comparable to that in which a " "Absolutely terrifying malfunction" was observed.
"Having a lot of trouble sleeping"
The Minister of Justice also expressed his personal distress regarding the case. He confided that he had "I've had a lot of trouble sleeping for several days now." « I also find it very difficult to confront how things happened to Lyhanna., he added.
The suspect faces a life sentence.
Referring to Jérôme Barella, the main suspect in the Lyhanna case, Gérald Darmanin indicated that"He faces a life sentence under the Penal Code." The minister also made very firm statements about pedophiles. “I personally believe that pedophiles are incurable. For my part, wanting to reintegrate pedophiles seems contrary to the reality of what is happening. I think our criminal justice response should not aim for their future reintegration but rather deprive them of their freedom as much as possible.”, did he declare.
Darmanin rules out resigning
When asked about a possible resignation, Gérald Darmanin replied that he would only leave if he felt it could improve the functioning of the justice system. "If I thought I was responsible for the situation and that it would help the justice system, I would do it."he declared. The Minister of Justice explained that he wanted to remain in office to pursue child protection policy. "I think that abandoning ship in the middle of a storm, while I'm trying to promote children's policies, I'm not sure that would help the cause."
