The legal battle is far from over.
The prefecture appealed, on January 31, the decision of the Alençon court approving the proposed adoption request of a 58-year-old family assistant, of the child in her care.
The prefect, interviewed by
Le Figaro,
believes that
“the behavior of the family assistant demonstrates that she is not acting in the best interests of the child, and disqualifies her from applying for adoption”
.
For almost a year and a half, Joséphine and her partner have been in conflict with the prefecture and the Departmental Council of Orne.
The latter notably highlight the excessively advanced age of the couple – both are 58 years old.
However, according to the law, the maximum age difference between adopters and the adoptable child is 50 years.
“But the criterion of age difference does not apply to family assistants because the latter are exempt from approvals, according to this same law
,” argues the couple’s lawyer in Le
Figaro.
Return to a complex legal conflict.
Too old to adopt?
Abandoned at birth by her mother on February 9, 2022, little Ambre* was entrusted four months later to Joséphine, a family assistant in Normandy and employee of the Orne Departmental Council.
Joséphine and her companion quickly become attached to Ambre, to the point of considering adoption.
However, from August 2022, the prefecture and the Departmental Council, according to the couple's lawyer, orally warned Joséphine: she would be too old to be able to adopt.
A long legal conflict ensues.
On August 8, 2022, Ambre became a ward of the state.
Such a status makes it possible to make the little girl adoptable.
Joséphine, however, contests this decision before the Alençon Judicial Court on November 14, 2022: this would allow Joséphine to make a request for delegation of parental authority, easier to obtain than an adoption.
However, on February 27, 2023, Joséphine's request was rejected.
That same day, on the proposal of the family council, the prefect decided to change the foster child, considering that Joséphine
“would not be able to support the child in his life plans”
, indicates- he told Le
Figaro
.
But Joséphine refuses for the first time to hand over the child to the prefectural authority.
On March 2, 2023, Joséphine and her partner finally submitted a request for a plan to adopt Ambre to the prefect of Orne.
Refusal to return the child
On April 13, 2023, Joséphine again refused to return the child to agents of the departmental directorate of employment, labor, solidarity and population protection (DDETSPP), acting on behalf of the prefect, who went this time at his home.
A complaint is then filed in the name of the prefect for
“removal of a minor child from the hands of the person to whom he is entrusted”
.
“Joséphine refused to return Ambre because it was an arbitrary request violating the rules of law applicable in the matter and in particular European and administrative jurisprudence
,” defends her lawyer in Le
Figaro
.
“The one who committed a crime is the prefect.
He sent people to exert pressure.
He did not have the right to take the child back from the family assistant, a valid reason must be provided.
However, he never filed a request ordering the surrender of the child
,” he continues.
This complaint
“is still under investigation”
, the prefect simply emphasizes, interviewed by
Le Figaro
.
On July 6, 2023, a new setback for Joséphine and her companion: the members of the Family Council unanimously rejected their application for the adoption of Ambre.
The couple
"is not able to take into consideration the child's long-term future"
and they
"prioritize their own desire for adoption to the detriment of the child's interests"
, considers the Council of family.
The media coverage of their request
“creates doubt about the couple's ability to protect”
Ambre, and the refusal to return the child at the request of the guardianship bodies created
“a breakdown in the bond of trust
,” the Council also argues.
“Stable and secure attachment links”
On July 20, Joséphine and her partner filed an appeal to contest this rejection of their adoption request.
After six months of waiting, change of heart on January 15, 2024: the Alençon judge rules in their favor, noting
the “devastating impact”
that a
“new rupture on the psycho-affective construction”
of Ambre would have, underlined by
“all professionals”
.
In fact, the child has already suffered two abandonments, the first time at birth with her biological mother and a second time with the maternal assistance with whom she had been entrusted before her arrival at Joséphine.
The judge also reports that after these traumatic events, the couple was able to
“reassure the child”
, which allowed him to
“build stable and secure attachment bonds”
and that they ensured
“appropriate medical monitoring to his situation
.
Despite their
“very significant age difference”
with Ambre,
“nothing allows us to doubt that they are capable of raising her until she is independent”,
their adoption project being part of
“in a long-term reflection”
, underlines the judge again.
Contacted by
Le Figaro,
the Departmental Council of Orne did not wish to comment on the matter.
The lawyer for the local authority also refuses any comment, in order to
“
keep the child away from a conflict whose long repercussions, often publicized, could ultimately be harmful to him”
.
Joséphine and her partner must now wait six months to file a formal request to adopt Ambre.
The couple has priority over adoption since they are family assistants, specifies their lawyer, who says he is confident
.
Pending the appeal judgment, the child remains placed in the home of the family assistant in Normandy.
*The first name has been changed