France rocked as girl, 11, stabbed to death in woodland

An 11-year-old schoolgirl was found murdered in a wood south of Paris over the weekend, sparking shock and a massive search for clues that could lead to the killer.

The girl was found stabbed to death in the Essonne region south of Paris in the night of Friday to Saturday, police said. She had been missing since leaving school on Friday afternoon.

According to a police source, who asked not to be named, she had been “hit more than 10 times by an object that could have been a knife”, particularly in the torso and neck.

A couple in their twenties were detained on Saturday as part of the investigation but were released without any further proceedings at this stage, prosecutors said.

While the circumstances of the killing remain unexplained, it comes with law and order, and in particular crime against children, major issues in French politics and society.