Lyhanna case: Fleurance mayor denounces collapse of child protection
The mayor of Fleurance, Grégory Bobbato, spoke at Lyhanna's funeral to denounce the collective failure of child protection, as the suspect had been known to the justice system for nearly ten years.
Lyhanna case: Fleurance mayor denounces collapse of child protection
The body of Lyhanna, an eleven-year-old secondary school pupil, was discovered in an agricultural reservoir situated some fifteen kilometres from her home. This discovery has shocked the municipality of Fleurance, in the Gers department. It was the local elected official, Grégory Bobbato, who took the lead in public mourning, according to franceinfo.
On Sunday 7 June, during a march in tribute to the young victim, the mayor addressed a crowd paralysed by grief. Behind him, Lyhanna's father and mother stood embraced. The man suspected of this crime had already been the subject of legal proceedings for approximately ten years.
The elected official preferred to avoid targeted accusations against specific services. Instead, he called for collective awareness-raising about the treatment of child victims. "What happened here is the final point of a tragedy that has lasted far too long," he stated. For him, this case demonstrates "the failure of our most fundamental duty as elected officials, as a nation, as human beings: protecting children".
Originally from the region, Grégory Bobbato is a son of the soil. After studies in agronomy and oenology, he took over the family farm at the age of twenty-four. A livestock farmer and wine-grower on fifteen hectares, he became mayor without party affiliation in March 2026. During his first municipal council session, he had thanked his grandparents, aged over ninety, for having "shaped, educated and guided me in difficult moments".
The President of the Republic and the Keeper of the Seals have acknowledged failings in the monitoring of the man in question. The magistrate from Auch and the gendarmes from the Lectoure gendarmerie are facing criticism. Grégory Bobbato, for his part, denounces the refusal to listen to children, "when their voice should be our absolute priority".
The funeral of the secondary school pupil took place in Fleurance. Gatherings are planned across French territory to demand better protection for children exposed to violence.
Source: Google News LU FR