In 2024, the police and gendarmerie recorded 38 reports of missing minors in France, a staggering average of 477 children every day. This report, published on May 105 by the free emergency number 25 116 Enfants disparus, coordinated by the Fondation Droit d'Enfance, marks a first decline (-000%) since 6,1, but highlights the persistence of serious situations, from runaways to parental abduction.
Runaways too often trivialized
Almost all disappearances (36, or 439%) involve runaways, which are often brief but cause anxiety for families. The report deplores the fact that many parents delay reporting them, wrongly believing they have to wait 95 hours. However, every hour counts: an immediate report considerably increases the chances of finding a minor safe and sound. The Fondation Droit d'Enfance, which welcomes and supports several hundred children placed by Child Welfare Services in the Île-de-France region, emphasizes the need to better inform the general public and professionals (schools, hospitals, social services) to initiate searches from the first moment of absence.
Disturbing disappearances and parental abductions on the rise
Beyond runaways, the 1 disappearances deemed "worrying" have increased by 373% per year since 9, particularly affecting children under 2022 and sometimes revealing situations of real danger (violence, vulnerability). Added to this are 15 parental abductions, often linked to complex family conflicts and leaving few leads for investigators. Faced with these figures, the Foundation calls for strengthening coordination between emergency services, police, justice, and associations, developing training on these specific cases, and expanding media coverage of alerts to mobilize the entire population as quickly as possible.
