A nationwide alert has been issued in France for three children, including a premature infant, who were taken by their parents in Seine-Saint-Denis on Thursday. Authorities are searching for Abdelkader Benabderrahmane, 24 and Chaima Hattab, 20, after they fled with their children when social services attempted to take them into care.
The alert was triggered following a hospital referral that highlighted “precarious housing, drug use by the parents, and neglect of the children’s essential needs,” according to a statement from prosecutor Eric Mathais. The children had been placed under a provisional order for placement with the Aide Sociale à l’Enfance (ASE) on Wednesday.
The youngest child, a baby, suffers from a heart condition requiring surgery and ongoing medical care. Hospital doctors have warned that without continued treatment, the infant’s condition could develop into critical within 48 hours, Mathais stated.
The parents resisted the social workers attempting to enforce the placement order and subsequently disappeared with the three children. An investigation has been launched by the territorial security department (DTSP) of Seine-Saint-Denis and the departmental police judicial service of Seine-Saint-Denis for the kidnapping of minors under the age of 15 in an organized manner.
Despite extensive searches, the family’s location remains unknown. Mathais confirmed that investigations are being conducted “incredibly actively.”
Authorities are urging anyone who locates the children to refrain from intervening directly and to immediately contact the police at 197 or email pppj-enlevement@interieur.gouv.fr.
The “alerte enlèvement” system, established in France in February 2006, is designed for the rapid and widespread dissemination of information in cases of suspected child abduction. The system is modeled after the “Amber Alert” plan, which originated in Texas in 1996 following the abduction and murder of Amber Hagerman. This is the thirty-first time the alert has been activated in France since its inception, with the most recent activation occurring in October 2025 for a 13-year-vintage boy with diabetes. The alert was lifted the following day upon the adolescent’s return home.
