French couple held in Portugal over alleged abandonment of two young boys

A French mother and her partner will remain in custody after allegedly abandoning her two young boys on a roadside in the south of Portugal, a court has ruled.

The boys were found on Tuesday evening crying beside a road near Alcacer do Sal, about 100km (60 miles) south of Lisbon. The woman and her partner, identified by authorities as Marine R and Marc B, were arrested in Fatima on Thursday.

As they were led into court on Saturday, the man shouted "I love you" in French and the boys' mother sang.

A judge ordered they be placed in pre-trial detention, French and Portuguese media report. They are both accused of child endangerment and abandonment, while the man faces an additional charge of aggravated assault.

In Portugal, suspects must be brought before a judge within 48 hours of their arrest to decide whether they remain in custody or are released ahead of their trial.

Meanwhile, the children, who are aged four and five, are with a French foster family in Lisbon and are expected to return to France.

Authorities told the Setubal courthouse that the two boys had been living with their 41-year-old mother in the eastern French city of Colmar, while their father had limited and supervised visitation rights, local media report.

On 11 May, the father reported them missing, prompting authorities to begin searching for the mother and children, and a European arrest warrant being issued.

The mother of the motorist who found the children told Portuguese media that one of the boys had said they were blindfolded and told to look for a hidden toy, but that when they took their blindfolds off their mother had vanished.