Overview
- The National Assembly adopted two major changes during first‑reading debate, including a vote to make crimes against minors imprescriptible and an article requiring key investigative acts and suspect interviews to be carried out within three months when this does not hinder inquiries.
- The imprescriptibility amendment carried by Green deputy Arnaud Bonnet passed 93 to 51, winning government support but drawing warnings from Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin and jurists that the Constitutional Council may not validate the change.
- The expanded child‑protection bill bundles criminal measures with core ASE reform: it promotes placement with relatives over institutions, creates an emergency 'ordonnance de sûreté de l'enfant,' tightens vetting for people working with children, and raises penalties including life terms for serial rapists of young children.
- Operational critics and opposition MPs say the text is a patchwork reaction to scandals and lacks needed resources, noting Aide sociale à l'enfance cares for more than 380,000 children while facing an estimated shortfall of about 30,000 professionals.
- The government seeks rapid passage and Senate scrutiny in the autumn, but the bill faces legal challenges, political resistance, and possible referral to the Council of State or Constitutional Council before any measures take effect in 2027.