Forbidden Games ending explained

What happens

At the station, the authorities hand Paulette over to the Red Cross. Michel has thrown away the crosses. Hearing a name that sounds like his, she runs into the crowd, crying for Michel, then for her mother. You see her lose both.

The last image

Paulette disappears into the station crowd, calling out for Michel and then her mother, and the film simply stops.

What it says

The ending shows that innocence cannot protect children from the adult world. Paulette made a place for her grief, and adults took it away. Clément offers no comfort, because the film asks who has the right to decide where she belongs.