A white march in tribute to Lyhanna takes place on Sunday June 7, 2026 in Fleurance, in Gers. The young girl’s parents announced their presence at this march, which will begin at 3 p.m., and “thank the mayor of Fleurance for his initiative”, through a press release from their lawyer, François Roujou de Boubée. They ask “the mayors present at their side since the beginning of the search to kindly accompany them”.
The town hall expects 5,000 people in its streets. In this Gers town of 6,000 inhabitants, located 80 km from Toulouse, the atmosphere was still heavy on Saturday June 6, two days after the discovery of Lyhanna’s body in the silo of an abandoned agricultural site.
At the exit of the market, which is held in a hall with typical architecture of the region, Florence Arnaud invited “friends” to go to the march with her, she tells AFP. “It’s important to be there, to be with these people (…), it’s reassuring, to understand that it can affect us all,” she adds very moved, shopping bags in hand.
Like many residents, she is angry at the handling of complaints of rape of minors targeting the main suspect, indicted and imprisoned last Monday for kidnapping and sequestration. “Recognizing that there are big mistakes is the minimum,” she emphasizes, referring to the apologies presented to the family by the Keeper of the Seals, Gérald Darmanin. “We need action,” shouts Marilou Dedes, crossed as she goes to the market. She doesn’t think about going to the white march, “I can’t, I’m too upset”, she slips, her voice breaking with tears.
“Unacceptable dysfunction”
Four complaints of rape of minors and two reports, including one for “inappropriate behavior” towards a high school student, target the main suspect, Jérôme B., 41 years old. Despite suspicions of child abuse, he was never questioned by investigators.
According to the Auch public prosecutor, he had been the subject of complaints for rape of a minor in 2022 and 2025. The first was dismissed. An investigation is underway for the second. This second complaint arouses anger in Gers and beyond: filed in August 2025, the Toulouse public prosecutor’s office then transmitted it to the Auch public prosecutor’s office, the facts having occurred in Montestruc-sur-Gers, where Jérôme B lived. According to the Auch prosecutor, it was only received in December 2025, then transmitted to the gendarmerie in January 2026. Jérôme B. was never heard in this affair, a failure arousing the ire of the inhabitants of Fleurance.
These dysfunctions have been pointed out at the highest level of the State, which overwhelms the judicial institution. Gérald Darmanin, “furious” at the treatment of the suspect by the courts, presented his “apologies in the name of justice” to Lyhanna’s family on Friday June 5. “It is clear that there is a dysfunction (…) and it is unacceptable”, declared from Montenegro President Emmanuel Macron, who does not want to “hear any argument of means in this matter”.
But for the Union of Magistrates (USM, majority), there remains “the impression that scapegoats are needed and quickly. There may have been malfunctions, but only the inspection reports can say that,” indicated its deputy secretary general, Aurélien Martini. He points out, to AFP, the proliferation of circulars “without asking the question of whether the services have the capacity to integrate them”.
