The tragedy aroused national emotion. The death of Lyhanna, the 11-year-old schoolgirl found dead on Thursday, six days after her disappearance, continues to provoke numerous reactions. Several personalities spoke out on social networks to express their anger and demand concrete measures in favor of child protection.
One of the first to react was the director and actress Andréa Bescond. As of Thursday, she published a video on Instagram in which she denounces “the injustice of too much.” “There is an urgent need to adopt a measure that allows the police and gendarmerie services to immediately see if complaints have already been filed against a person,” she declared. She also called on the French to gather on Monday at 7 p.m. in front of the Ministry of Justice as well as in front of the country’s courts. His post garnered more than 20,600 likes.
The next day, Andréa Bescond reiterated her indignation in a new video, denouncing “the infinite complacency towards child criminals”. His video was “liked” by more than 47,300 people. A commitment which is part of the continuation of its fight against violence against children. The artist notably recounted his own experiences as a victim of sexual violence in childhood through his play and then his film Tickles, who contributed to freeing the victims’ voices.
#IAmInTribunal
Other actors also spoke on Instagram. Emmanuelle Béart estimated that “the judicial institution was not able to protect this little Lyhanna” and that this tragedy constituted “one more tragedy”. Recalling the frightening figure of “160,000 children incested every year”, she also highlighted failures “at all levels, in the collection of complaints, in prevention, in the alert system… Nothing is effective”, she judged. This is not the first time that the actress has engaged on the subject. In 2023, she revealed that she had been a victim of incest and had co-directed a documentary on the subject, A Silence so loud. This brought together the testimonies of victims and highlighted the lasting consequences of incest.
Visibly very moved, the actress Philippine Leroy Beaulieu also castigated “the case of too much” in a video. “I hope at least that this horrible story will serve to awaken all consciences,” she declared. For his part, comedian Alex Lutz spoke of “the tragedy of too many” in a video published on Instagram, in which he notably encourages the use of the hashtag #JeSuisAuTribunal.
Photos of child stars to help raise awareness
Another initiative noted: that of Maïtena Biraben, co-founder of the media Mesdames, who called on Internet users to share a photo of them as a child or at the beginning of adolescence, accompanied by the same text ending with these words: “Girls have rights including that of not being prey! That’s enough! » A slogan followed by Juliette Binoche, Flavie Flament, Jeanne Cherhal, Adeline Toniutti, Gabriel Lazure, Gwendoline Hamon… On Instagram, Caroline Darian, the daughter of Gisèle Pelicot, also published a video to express her anger: “What a shame for our justice system […] What do prosecutors do in France?,” she asked.
Photos and words which further amplify the resonance of the drama experienced by Lyhanna and the urgent need of French society for a collective reaction in favor of child protection.
