Chloé Moulière, a 28-year-old mother from Nantes, France, is recounting the traumatic experience of her son Julian being taken by his father to Romania in June 2024. Julian, who holds dual citizenship in France and Romania, was removed despite court rulings in both countries granting Moulière exclusive custody. Moulière says she was approached by three individuals who took Julian without her knowledge, and she was unable to stop them. She claims that Romanian authorities told her she should "leave him there" and that her French court order was "worthless." She was also barred from entering the city where her son was taken, adding to her sense of helplessness. Arnaud Paris, a 46-year-old father from France, shared a similar story involving his two daughters, Eva and Juliette, who were taken by their mother in April 2024. The children, who have French and American citizenship, were reportedly taken through Spain and a secret route to Morocco before arriving in the United States. Paris claims the mother moved the children despite a court order prohibiting her from leaving the country. He filed a "request for return under the Hague Convention," an international treaty meant to ensure the swift return of children taken by one parent. However, he says the U.S. is delaying the process, allegedly conditioning the children to refuse returning to their father. Paris claims the children have told him they would only return if he "abandons everything the French government has decided and whitewashes mom." The Hague Convention, designed to ensure the immediate return of children taken by one of their parents, is reportedly underutilized in such cases. The French Ministry of Justice has established a specialized mediation cell to assist with these cases, but some advocates consider it insufficient. Sacha Straub-Kahn, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, noted that the cell aims to resolve a few cases annually, but it is seen as only a small step toward a broader solution. Arnaud Paris, who founded the association Protection des enfants de l'Europe, argues that parental kidnapping is significantly underestimated in France. He claims that about four children per day in France are victims of such kidnappings, with half experiencing long-term consequences, including suicide attempts in adolescence. Paris has spent over 850,000 euros in legal fees to recover his daughters, with whom he has had only limited contact. He has seen his daughters only once in the past two and a half years, for an hour in a courtroom in Oregon. The Ministry of Justice reports that there are currently 189 such cases under consideration, and Paris is calling for diplomatic action and a law to compel states to respect international law on the subject.