In 2023, According to the Children’s Law Foundationmore than 40,000 disappearances of minors have been reported in France. If the majority of them concern fugues, 661 cases have been qualified as parental kidnappings, upstairs (+ 21.5 %) compared to the previous year. Among them, almost half involves a departure abroad. Binational couples have never been so numerous about this. Today, Almost 30 % of weddings in France are called “mixed”between people of different nationalities or origins. But when these unions break, children sometimes become the hostages of a conflict between two countries, two cultures, and two legal systems.
Antoine Sibuet and Guillaume Garreau had bitter experience: their children were taken to Kazakhstan by their mothers. And despite several court decisions in their favor, local authorities do not cooperate and the embassies are helpless. There Hague Conventionsupposed to guarantee the rapid return of kidnapped children, remains a dead letter. They are called Elsa, Aristide and Maximilien. They are between 3 and 6 years old. And for months, they have lived far from their father. 20 minutes met with these disarmed dads.
“We left for Kazakhstan. We will not come back “
Antoine Sibuet meets his future wife while he lives in Kazakhstan himself in 2011. After several years on the spot, the couple successively settled in Dubai, Tadjikistan and Algeria before putting their suitcases in France, just after the birth of their daughter Elsa, in 2018. Their son Aristide was born in 2020. But the relationship is degraded and they separate. An alternating guard is set up in Roanne (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), a city in which everyone lives on their side. And it was in July 2023 that everything changed. During her childcare period, the mother left France with the children, without warning. Antoine discovers an empty house: closed shutters, cut meters, empty cupboards. “It was clear that it was not a simple start on vacation. “A few hours later, a simple sms:” We left for Kazakhstan. It is not worth complaining, we will not come back. »»
Immediately, Antoine Sibuet launched a procedure via the Hague Convention, which was signed by France and Kazakhstan. He won three times with the Kazakhe justice. But that doesn’t change anything. “The bailiff cannot locate it. She only gives false addresses and has dropped out of children. The father has no contact with his children since November 2023. “I don’t know where they are. I can’t talk to them. I don’t even know if they are fine. »»
The Hague Convention, a powerful but unevenly applied tool
Adopted in 1980, the Hague Convention aims to combat international parental abductions. It is based on a simple principle: when a parent takes a child abroad without the agreement of the other, the child must be returned quickly to his country of usual residence, so that the disputes of childcare are settled there.
But even if more than 100 countries have signed the agreement, its application is very uneven. Some countries do not really cooperate, even if they are signatory. For the parent who has remained in the country of origin, the course becomes a labyrinth: long, expensive procedures, sometimes ignored or blocked. Result: abandoned parents, unpaid decisions, and children blocked abroad for months … or even years.
“She said to me,” We had the covid, we stay longer. ” »»
A researcher in San José, Guillaume Garreau is a Franco-American. In 2018, he met his future partner in San Francisco during an evening between expatriates. A year later, they get married, in the middle of a pandemic. “The town hall was closed, the borders too. We got married on Microsoft Teams, with two municipal employees as witnesses. Their son, Maximilien, was born in 2021. But very quickly, the family situation deteriorates. Guillaume first tries to understand. “I excused a lot of his anger. I told myself that it was stress, that we were trying to have a child … Then even after birth, I always found excuses. But violence rises and everyday life quickly becomes unlivable.
After a difficult separation, Guillaume obtains the shared custody of their son. Then in 2023, his ex-partner asked to take their son to Kazakhstan for “holidays”. Guillaume is wary. “As soon as I knew she could leave, I knew she could not come back. »He anticipates and asks the Californian judge that Air air Be sewn in the stroller and the coat of his son, and imposes a daily video call. The judge accepts. Then his ex-wife leaves. And for twelve days, she respects the agreement. “Two days before the return flight, she announced to me:” We had the covid, we stay longer. ” Then, the AirTags are deactivated. I understood: it was not the covid. She was never going to come back. Guillaume then embarked on a legal marathon. He too wins before the American justice as well as in justice Kazakhe. “But she doesn’t move. Because she is her mother. Because I am a man. And because I am a foreigner. »»
An expensive struggle
Despite everything, Guillaume Garreau holds. He leaves for Kazakhstan. Hires an on -site bailiff who tracks the old addresses. “We found one where she had received journalists. The concierge of the building told me that the neighbors complained of violent arguments. And that the child … never went out. His son, Maximilien, is now 3 and a half years old. He hardly speaks anymore. Diagnosed autistic just before departure, he had to start therapy when he returns. It never took place. Guillaume Garreau saw it once, by zoom, for a psychological assessment. Moved, he tells us that his son did not recognize him. At the same time, I was four pixels on a phone. »»
In the meantime, Guillaume continues to pay: lawyers, plane tickets, his son’s crèche “in case”, health insurance. He sells, borrows, and above all gets in debt. “This situation cost me more than $ 100,000. I launched a kitty to hold. »» A kitty online which has to date collected just over $ 10,000. “Today, my only legal option is that the US government is pressure on Kazakhstan. Without that, I will never see my son again. »»
“All I ask is that we apply justice decisions”
For Antoine Sibuet and Guillaume Garreau, legal appeals are completed. Justice, in France, in the United States, in Kazakhstan, has proved them right. “I have won three times. All I ask is that we apply justice decisions. Summarizes Guillaume. But despite clear decisions, local authorities refuse to cooperate. “The embassy does what it can, but it cannot force local police. And local police do nothing. It’s a wall, ”says Antoine. Diplomatic silence leaves them alone in the face of inaction. “I no longer have any recourse in California. Only diplomacy remains. If the United States is not pressure, I will never see my son again, ”continues Guillaume. Antoine denounces assumed political priorities: “France does not want to get angry. Kazakhstan is uranium, oil, gas. It is better to lose two children than contracts. »»
Our file on kidnappings
And yet, neither gives up. Antoine, who returned to live with his parents to save, founded an association, STOP Parental Removaland are looking for political relays. Guillaume, meanwhile, is in debt and multiplies trips. “I just want to see my son again,” he insists. Behind their personal fight, a wider question is emerging: how to guarantee the fundamental rights of children and parents, in a world where families no longer stop at the borders? “I want to believe that justice still exists,” says Antoine. And Guillaume concludes: “I am afraid of getting used to his absence. »»
