El caso Outreau: Una pesadilla francesa

I can only agree with the many other negative reviews.

I was interested in the series, but the portrayal of the case and the attitudes towards the children in the case room made me interested to find out more information about what had happened further on and I was disappointed to see how much of it was not included in the series. The current Netflix portrayal of the events is very much focused on the adults, victim blaming etc.

Terrible to see so many admitted facts - as for example - where one of the couples "acquitted" later were found guilty of sexual child abuse.

It does create a very bad feeling after watching and not because of the sad story, but how it is portrayed and how it almost feels as an ordered story for the layers and how much is skipped over that could have balanced the story from the victims perspective.

As Episode 1 of "The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare" (2024 release; 4 episodes of about 45 min.) opens, we are reminded of the vast scope of this tragedy: 18 kids having endured sexual crimes allegedly committed by 17 adults in the norther France suburb of Outreasu, near Bologne-sur-Mer. We then go back in time to "February 22, 2001", when an investigation is opened and we hear from the Examining Magistrate how it all started... At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: let me admit that I had never heard of this case before. It shook all of France, and we understand why as the events unfold in Episode 1 and later on. The crimes truly shock the conscience. Unless the crimes were not committed? This documentary mini-series exposes the French judicial system. Without spoiling anything, there are things happening in the trial that will leave you incredulous. If not infuriated. Even though these 4 episodes fly by quickly, I must admit that it makes for overall grim viewing, so you have been warned!

"The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare" recently started streaming on Netflix. If you are interested in true crime documentaries and can put up with the overall grim nature of this particular mini-series, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

This docu series is a bit of a mixed bag and I'm not sure where it was trying to place it's focus. Pdf ring conviction? Unreliable testimony? Police malpractice? People getting away with it? I mean it's all over the place.

The beginning is solid. There are the accusations, the people involved, the web is built...sort of. You never learn really how everyone is connected at all, so they're all floating 'monsters', but the children's testimonies are horrific and it's terrible. Enough said.

At some point in this series a seed of doubt is planted. There is something not quite right going on. The main mother seems to have some form of Munchausens, in whatever form that takes shape in this situation of her feeding off attention.

Then this docu series decends into inchoerent chaos. Suddenly there are more people accused, more kids never actually introduced. More horrific crimes, more accusations. It's actually impossible to clarify what's true and what's not. People confessed, people proclaimed innocence. People got convicted.

And pause.

Now would be the time to sober up in this series, and try to sort the wheat from the chaff of everything that came before. Nope. It diverts it's course from the actual crimes commited to the people who were wrongly convicted. It's bizarre.

You would assume that it would focus on the childrens testimonials. Were they 100% genuine? What actually happened and what did the police/caregivers do to influence the implication of potentially innocent people? Nope, nothing.

One thing you never learn, is how much was true and how much actually happened, and how it ended up the way it did. It's actually heartbreaking. Because clearly something happened, but it was put on the back burner for this.

This series shows why it is important that the legal system is run by professionals with the highest level of competence and integrity. The documentary focuses on a scandal that erupted after an investigation involving paedophilia in one family in Outreau, France. The children in this family were one hundred percent victims of this horrible crime. Unfortunately, their mother, apart from being an enabler of abuse, was a pathological liar, and this led to many innocent people being accused of this crime. When word of this got out, it sparked a scandal in France, and many of the accused were cleared of any wrong-doing. Perhaps prematurely (which the documentary does not address). Three people who were cleared were subsequently charged and convicted of crimes against children. The trail itself was a sham....child victims were subjected to hours of testimony in public court, which is not something that is good for them, or conducive to the interest of justice. The defence lawyers were permitted to ruin the character of children. If a child is required to testify about such a matter, it should happen behind closed doors, with no cross-examination. My conclusion is that such investigations should not be reported to the public until a verdict is reached.

Pretty bad stuff here. It's grim. But the way the French legal system operates here is a complete disgrace. Perhaps another example of why English common law is the fairest way. Adversarial, in the correct way, is obviously better than the inquisitorial concept as played out in this documentary. France always has some good ideas, but ultimately the Anglosphere knows best.

I have to write more? I love France. Baguettes, wine and pain du chocolat. Moule mariner and Truffaut. Alain Delon? Yep. Tres classique. At the end of the day, good concept, bad delivery. The French legal system. Liberty? Non. Just my opinion.