The bodies of five babies were found in a flat in the historic centre of Orange, in south-eastern France, at the home of a family whose mother reportedly gave birth to a healthy baby recently.
The remains were discovered on the second floor of an old building near the town’s Roman theatre.
A source close to the investigation told AFP that the woman gave birth on Monday to a healthy baby.
According to the same source, her partner had taken her to hospital with stomach pains and was unaware that she was pregnant.
The source said the man’s confused remarks, in which he referred to other possible concealed pregnancies, led police to search the couple’s home on Monday evening.
During that search, officers found the remains of five newborn babies in boxes, according to several sources.
A neighbour who lives in the adjoining lane described the couple as “charming people” in their thirties, who had moved into the building about two years ago.
The neighbour said they had two children who attend the local primary school.
Contacted by AFP, the Carpentras prosecutor’s office said it was not willing to comment immediately.
In February, a 50-year-old woman from Haute-Saône was arrested after two babies were found in her freezer. Cases of repeated infanticide at birth are not uncommon. They are sometimes associated with the mother’s diminished mental capacity or a denial of pregnancy that remained hidden from those around her.
In 2015, France was also faced with a serious case of infanticide, in which Dominique Cottrez was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment for the murder of eight newborns. The jury recognised that she had diminished responsibility.
