Brothers abandoned in Portugal to return to France after court ruling

Two young brothers, aged four and five, abandoned in Portugal by their mother and stepfather, are set to be returned to France. A court in the Portuguese city of Setúbal issued a preliminary ruling placing the children under the care of social services in Colmar, northeastern France. This decision aims to minimize harm to the children during the transition, with authorities in both countries coordinating the process.

French social services are also assessing the possibility of placing the boys with relatives or other suitable guardians. The children were taken into care on May 19 after a driver discovered them crying by the side of a main road connecting Alcácer do Sal to the resort town of Comporta. They have since been placed with a French-speaking foster family.

The circumstances surrounding the abandonment by the 41-year-old mother and her 55-year-old partner remain unclear. The boys had been living with their mother in Colmar, eastern France, where authorities had been searching for them since May 11. Their biological father had reported them missing to the police. He has limited, supervised visitation rights following the divorce, a decision he had challenged in court.