French mother and partner detained after boys found abandoned in Portugal
A French woman and her partner have been detained in Portugal for allegedly abandoning her two young sons. The boys, aged 4 and 5, were found crying beside a road with food and water but no identification. The couple faces charges of aggravated assault, endangerment, and abandonment after being arrested following a European warrant issued by French authorities.
- ▪The couple was ordered to be held in pre-trial detention by a court in Setubal, Portugal.
- ▪The children were discovered on a roadside near Alcacer do Sal, approximately 100 kilometers south of Lisbon.
- ▪French authorities had been searching for the mother and children since May 11, when the father reported them missing.
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A vehicle belonging to the Portuguese National Gendarmerie (GNR) carrying the two suspects arrives at the courthouse in Setubal, Portugal, on May 23, 2026. FILIPE AMORIM / AFP A court in Portugal on Saturday, May 23, ordered pre-trial detention for a French woman and her partner, accused of abandoning her two young boys, ages 4 and 5, on a roadside in the south of the country. The court in the port city of Setubal ordered the 41-year-old woman and the 55-year-old man to be held for the crimes of aggravated assault, endangerment and abandonment of the boys after a two-day hearing. The case has drawn widespread attention in Portugal and France since the two small boys were found Tuesday evening crying beside a road near Alcacer do Sal, about 100 kilometers south of Lisbon.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Le Monde (EN).