According to AFP, a foundation responsible for managing the emergency hotline for missing children in Europe recently released a report indicating that in 2025, France received 40,953 reports of minors going missing. This means that on average, 112 minors went missing each day.
Among them, the number of concerning disappearances cases increased by 18.6%. In these cases, the safety or well-being of children is suspected to be at risk, such as due to coercion, sexual exploitation, or mental health crises.
Among the girls reported missing, nearly one-third of the serious cases are related to sexual exploitation.
Overall, the increase in the number of missing persons is mainly due to an increase in cases of children running away from home. This figure represents a 6.2% increase compared to the previous year, accounting for over 95% of all reports of missing children. Nearly 38% of these cases involve children under the age of 15.
The foundation urges families to report missing children to the police as soon as possible. It also notes that two-thirds of the children can be found or return home on the first few days.
