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Judge Orders Pre-Trial Detention for French Couple After Two Young Boys Found Abandoned in Portugal

The detention launches cross-border legal coordination over custody, extradition and criminal charges while the children stay in foster care

Overview

  • A Setúbal judge on Saturday ordered pre-trial detention for Marine R. (41) and Marc B. (55) on suspicion of child abandonment and, in the partner’s case, dangerous bodily injury.
  • A motorist found the two French boys crying and alone near Comporta after they told authorities their mother had blindfolded them "for a game" and left them in a wood.
  • The children are placed with a French-speaking foster family while Portuguese authorities investigate reports that one boy had bruises and the father pursues return proceedings.
  • Portugal’s National Republican Guard says French authorities have issued two European arrest warrants tied to alleged abduction or neglect of a 16-year-old son, adding cross-border legal complexity.
  • Next steps include formal French requests for the children’s return and possible extradition or transfer hearings, which will decide custody and how prosecutions proceed in Portugal or France.