French Education Minister Urges Nationwide Use of Child Abuse Reporting Guide after Lyhanna Case

France's Education Minister Édouard Geffray called on all school rectors to circulate the child‑sexual‑abuse reporting guide that was published in March, stressing that it must be shared systematically. He referenced the recent death of a young girl, Lyhanna, whose case has revived scrutiny of school reporting practices. Geffray noted that schools generate about 80,000 reports of all kinds each year and announced plans for a "blacklist" of education staff barred from re‑employment after misconduct involving minors, a measure to be included in the upcoming child‑protection bill. He added that, five years earlier, a suspected perpetrator, Jérôme B., was reported by a principal and immediately suspended and dismissed, but the education services did not inform the police. The minister said no evidence yet points to a systemic failure by the education ministry, but a full investigation will be conducted. He reminded that roughly 30‑40 education personnel are dismissed annually for sexual‑related offenses out of a workforce of 1.2 million.