Juliette Binoche, Andrea Bescond (“Little Tickles”), Charlotte Le Bon, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (“Emily in Paris”) and Judith Godrèche are among a growing number of French entertainment figures backing a new grassroots movement sparked by the murder of 11-year-old Lyhanna, a case that has shaken France, drawn extensive media coverage and is garnering bipartisan political support.
The movement emerged after the abduction and killing of Lyhanna in late May and intensified as the suspect’s history came to light. Jérôme Barella, now charged with abduction and false imprisonment, had been flagged to authorities repeatedly, starting in 2017, over his relationship with a 17-year-old girl; in 2022, in a rape complaint involving a minor that was closed without action; and again from August 2025, in another rape case, according to Le Monde newspaper. Although these three earlier procedures were on file, he had never been questioned. The shortcomings have galvanized families, feminist organizations and public figures who are now demanding a comprehensive law to protect women and children.
It comes less than two years after the Gisèle Pelicot case, which dominated international headlines and became a defining moment in France’s reckoning with sexual violence. And it lands as Paris confronts a scandal of its own: more than 100 nurseries, primary schools and daycare centers across the capital are under investigation over allegations of physical and sexual abuse — including the rape of children as young as three — by non-teaching staff. According to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, the cases span 84 pre-schools, around 20 primary schools and roughly 10 daycare centers. Since the start of 2026, the city has suspended 78 school monitors, 31 of them on suspicion of sexual abuse — part of a crisis that has put scrutiny on the roughly 15,000 animateurs Paris employs to supervise children outside the classroom.
