During an audition with the Senate investigation commission on violence in the school environment on Monday, September 28, the Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin, acknowledged a gap between the current functioning of the judiciary and the needs of children facing violence. He emphasized the need to prioritize cases involving children and announced the development of an artificial intelligence tool, to be available by December, to help prosecutors prioritize complaints more effectively. Darmanin pointed out that the pace of the justice system often does not match the urgency of the situation for children. He stressed that cases of sexual violence against minors should be treated as top priorities, with rapid hearings and access to necessary expertise. However, he noted a shortage of judges, investigators, and experts, which can lead to delays in processing these cases. While the ministry does not currently have specific data on violence in school environments, overall figures for violence targeting minors have increased between 2021 and 2025. The number of procedures for the most serious sexual violence cases rose from 25,355 to 32,678 (+29%), other sexual offenses from 7,923 to 10,009 (+26%), and physical or psychological violence from 48,971 to 66,679 (+36%). As of August 30, 2026, 503 investigations concerning the school environment were ongoing in the jurisdiction of the Paris general prosecutor's office, with 143 involving preschools, 36 elementary schools, and 24 daycares. Darmanin highlighted a key weakness in the system: the lack of effective information sharing. Local authorities can report incidents, but the judiciary is not always able to respond quickly. He proposed that elected officials and local leaders be better informed about the status of reports while maintaining the confidentiality of ongoing investigations. He also criticized prosecutors for not responding to requests from elected officials for explanations about specific cases and suggested using existing coordination mechanisms used in the fight against radicalization to improve communication. Darmanin advocated for better use of recordings of hearings involving young children to avoid them having to repeat their account during the legal process. He pointed out the challenges associated with the transcription of hearings and the transmission of digital materials between jurisdictions. He mentioned an experiment with complaint filing services in some schools, modeled after existing systems in hospitals for violence against women. Darmanin announced the arrival in December of an artificial intelligence tool called My penal assistant, intended to assist in the processing of cases in the jurisdictions. It will analyze digitized complaints and reports, produce a summary, and propose an initial prioritization according to the guidelines of criminal policy. He estimates that this tool could allow for faster detection of concentrations of reports in the same establishment or on the same territory. Darmanin expressed concerns about a provision in the integral law bill, which would require all sexual cases to go before the court of assizes. This court takes three to four times longer than a criminal court, and he fears "a scissor effect extremely detrimental to the protection of children": more complaints and judicial information, but judgments that do not advance. At the end of his hearing, Darmanin summarized the challenge in a formula: "We must change" the functioning of the judiciary to adapt it to the time of the child.