The small town of Saint-Just is in mourning today. A child, 11 years old, was laid to rest. But the grief is laced with anger. Whispers of incompetence. Accusations of systemic failure. The local gendarmerie is under siege.
The victim, killed last Tuesday, was known to authorities. A pattern of abuse. Multiple calls to the police. Each one, it seems, met with inaction. The question on every parent's mind: why?
Details are still emerging. But the narrative is hardening. A family in crisis. A child crying out for help. A system designed to protect, looking the other way. The Interior Ministry has promised an inquiry. Of course it has. That is the standard playbook. But will heads roll? In France, they rarely do.
The funeral was a quiet affair. The bishop spoke of innocence and tragedy. The congregation wept. But outside, the mood was different. Locals stood in silence, holding signs. "Justice for our children." "Where was the state?"
This is a story of institutional failure. A story that will dominate the news cycle for days, perhaps weeks. The President has expressed his condolences. The Mayor has called for calm. But the fury is real, and it is bubbling.
For now, the town buries its dead. But the reckoning is yet to come. Sources tell me the prefect is nervous. The opposition is circling. This could be a flashpoint. A moment that shifts the political landscape. Or another scandal that fades into the ether. The weather in Whitehall? Stormy. But we watch Paris with a knowing eye. The tragedy is the same, everywhere.
