France faced up to its failure to handle sex criminals yesterday after fresh disclosures in a paedophile case prompted President Sarkozy to promise tough, British-style measures to keep lifelong tabs on offenders.

The case of Francis Evrard, 61, who was arrested last week after kidnapping a five-year-old boy, stirred outrage because of the circumstances of his release from prison last month after serving 18 years for child rape.

Among these were that Evrard was given Viagra, the anti-impotence drug, by two doctors shortly before he left the prison in the Normandy city of Caen. He had also collected paedophile pictures and talked to prison officers in crude language about his continuing attraction to children just before his release, Le Figaro reported.

President Sarkozy announced plans to bar the early release of prisoners and the creation of secure hospitals to retain, if necessary, offenders whose terms have ended. He called for voluntary “chemical castration” for released paedophiles and electronic monitoring of their movements. “Everything must be put in place to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” he said.

Evrard was arrested two weeks after he failed to report for medical supervision. His case, and others, have shown the underfunded justice system’s inability to deal with sex criminals. Since his arrest, Evrard has told police that he had had relations with about 40 children although he had been convicted of molesting only three, Le Parisien newspaper said.

The doctors who prescribed the Viagra said that they had no access to the criminal backgrounds of the prisoners they treated.

Prison guards said that they were worried about the release next weekend of a child rapist with a similar background to that of Evrard. “He is boasting openly that he is going to start again. Everyone should be warned,” said the wardens’ union.

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