A 12-year-old girl, whose murder shocked France and also sparked a bitter political controversy, was due to be buried on Monday, while an Algerian woman was already the subject of an expulsion order accused of murder.
The murder and brutal assault of the girl known as Lola was branded an “evil” by President Emmanuel Macron after her body was found in a suitcase in Paris earlier this month.
But it also prompted right-wing and far-right critics to accuse his government of not doing enough to prevent illegal migration, and ministers countered that such reproaches were misplaced at this time.
Lola’s family have urged that the dispute be settled and that the young girl be buried in “respect and dignity” when her funeral takes place later Monday in the town of Lillers in her home region of northern France.
The funeral mass is public, but the family wants the burial in the cemetery to remain strictly private. Also present is Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, a close Macron ally.
“I want Lola’s parents to have the opportunity to live,” said Bishop of Arras Olivier Leborgne, who will preside over the ceremony. “I hope that people will be very sober, discreet and very respectful,” he told France 3 TV.
Only 500 people can attend inside the church, but given the expected attendance of thousands, loudspeakers will be set up so they can watch the ceremony outside.
– “Extremely Evil” –
Macron spoke on Friday of the “cruelty of the crime”, which he described as an “extremely evil” act.
He praised the “dignified” behavior of her family, who he said deserved “primarily the respect and affection of the nation.”
But the profile of the suspects, a woman named Dahbia B., an Algerian who was the subject of an expulsion order, has sparked sharp criticism from the right and one of the most acrimonious political debates since Macron’s re-election in May.
She had overstayed a student visa and failed to comply with an order issued in August to leave France within 30 days.
On Monday, the 24-year-old was charged with the rape and murder of a minor under the age of 15, as well as torture and ill-treatment.
The woman has confessed that she then “committed sexual harm and other acts of violence against[Lola]which caused her death and hid her body in the trunk,” prosecutors said.
According to the autopsy, the young girl died of “cardiopulmonary failure with evidence of asphyxia and cervical compression.”
The investigation will now focus on whether the suspect was suffering from a psychiatric disorder at the time of the killing and can be criminally held responsible for the murder.
– ‘Honour the memory’ –
Eric Ciotti, MP for the right-wing Republican Party (LR), denounced a “criminal laxism of migration” while far-right candidate in the May election Eric Zemmour even used the term “Frankoccide” to describe the murder.
The far-right National Assembly (RN) observed a minute’s silence in parliament during which the leader of its MPs, Marine Le Pen, insisted on the need for “answers” from the government.
Her parents, who met with Macron last week, asked politicians on Friday to stop exploiting their daughter’s murder after her photo was shown at a far-right demonstration in Paris the day before.
In a statement sent to AFP on Friday, they called for an immediate end to “any use of their child’s name and likeness for political purposes” so that they could “honor the memory of their child in peace, respect and dignity.”
Police also launched an investigation after one of their officers gave vivid details of the case in an interview with BFMTV. The interview, which was filmed to disguise his identity, aired on Friday.
