Nîmes: an 8-year-old child kidnapped by his mother and stepfather, saved thanks to his neighbors

A backpack at the end of a rope to reach his window. Locked in his room for several weeks by his mother and stepfather, an 8-year-old child benefited from the help of his neighbors to survive. In the backpack some food and water. “Every time he ate, it was out the window and quickly. Above all, he didn’t make any noise, he spoke to us with mimes or in a very low voice,” a neighbor told the TF1 teams.

The events took place in Nîmes and the police intervened this Friday to free him. Police officers whom the child begged to call by throwing small pieces of paper with “Call the police”, “Help” written on them, reports RTL.

The mother had requested the placement of her child

An investigation is underway. “She must establish the veracity of the facts, to know if it is true, if it is false. We still have to remain careful in this kind of context,” explains Mélissa Gil, representative in the Gard department of the Alliance Police nationale union, to TF1.

RTL was able to consult a press release from the Nîmes public prosecutor's office specifying that the mother, "faced with increasing difficulties in the face of the child's personality disorders, and as a result of disagreement within the home", had requested her placement on August 11, "previously and independently of the facts mentioned".

The child placed in a foster home, his sister left to his parents

“It should be noted that the minor has been the subject of educational assistance monitoring by a children's judge since 2023 in a context of personality disorders and separation and conflicting educational positioning between the two parents,” continues the judicial institution.

The 8-year-old boy was placed in a home, announces RTL. While according to TF1, the couple was able to retain custody of their 8-month-old granddaughter. The police did not identify any cases of mistreatment concerning her.