He was 7 when he was left alone.
In Nersac, a town in southwestern France, a boy woke up every morning in an apartment without heating or hot water, wrapped himself in several duvets, and headed to school like any other day. He ate whatever he could find: canned food, cookies, cake, and tomatoes he took from a neighbor’s balcony. His mother, Alexandra, 39, had moved 5 kilometers away to live with her new partner and barely stopped by to leave him some food from time to time.
No one suspected anything for nearly two years. His teachers described him as an exemplary student, always clean and well-dressed. It was a neighbor who noticed that the boy went in and out of his home alone and alerted the police. The mother’s phone records confirmed what seemed impossible: she did not sleep there, did not accompany him to school, and barely existed in his own life.
In January 2024, the French justice system sentenced her to 18 months in prison. The boy, now living with a foster family, does not want to see her again.