French children abandoned in Portugal by mother and partner

Two young brothers, aged 3 to 5, were discovered alone on May 19 near a road 100 kilometers southwest of Lisbon, Portugal. The children told a local baker, who found them crying, that they had been driven from France and abandoned in a forest after their mother and her partner blindfolded them to play a game. The mother, identified as 42-year-old Marine Rousseau, and her 55-year-old partner, Marc Balabriga, were arrested on May 21 at a cafe in the city of Fatima. Authorities in Colmar, France, had been searching for the mother and the children since May 11 following a kidnapping complaint filed by the father. The suspects, currently facing potential charges of child endangerment and abandonment, are expected to appear before a judge in Setubal. Medical examinations confirmed the children are in good health, and they have been placed in foster care pending repatriation. There is a slight discrepancy in reporting regarding the children's exact ages, which are stated as either 3 and 5 or 4 and 5 in different accounts.