British woman is found in tears on the streets of Paris holding her underwear ‘after being gang-raped by several men at a music festival’
- The victim was found crying and wearing underwear in the center of Paris early Saturday
- It comes as teenage girls were injected with an unknown substance at another location
A British woman was allegedly gang-raped and then robbed on the streets of Paris after attending a festival in the French capital on Friday evening, it has emerged.
The tourist was found crying as she staggered through the streets of Paris’ 1st arrondissement early Saturday morning, a police source said.
She was clutching her underwear in a state of considerable distress after leaving a concert at the Olympia Hall – one of hundreds of events held across France on June 21 to mark the ‘Fête de la Musique’ – known as ‘Make Music Day’ in English.
The victim, who was picked up by firefighters and taken to Cochin Hospital to undergo medical examinations, later told police that she was accosted by several men and dragged to a secluded area where they raped her and stole her phone. Le Figaro.
Investigators from Paris’ First Judicial Police District are now investigating the incident, but have not yet identified any suspects.
The shocking rape comes as five teenage girls were injected with an unknown substance while attending another Make Music Day event in the Paris suburb of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés.
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the annual one-day music festival ‘Fete de la musique’ in the courtyard of the Elysee presidential palace in Paris on June 21, 2024. June 21 marks the annual start of ‘Fete de la Musique’, a tradition that marks the marks the first day of summer when music is played outside
Participants gather next to the stage during the annual one-day music festival ‘Fete de la musique’ in the courtyard of the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, France, on June 21, 2024
The girls, aged between 13 and 17, told emergency workers at the event that they were dancing in the crowd when they felt stitches in their arms.
Each of them soon began showing symptoms, including dizziness and nausea, headaches and fever, witnesses at the scene said Le Parisien.
Three of the girls reportedly had marks on their left arms that indicated they had been pierced with a needle.
But the police were unable to make any arrests; some 10,000 people attended the event in the Paris suburb.
Two men were detained by officers for a search of the scene, but were later released after police could find no paraphernalia or other evidence linking them to the spike.
Mayor of Saint-Maur Sylvain Berrios, who also attended the festival, admitted to Le Parisien that such incidents constitute “an extremely painful phenomenon” that is “difficult to stop.”
Berrios said security at the scene had been significantly strengthened and authorities had installed a series of CCTV cameras to create a live security feed to the municipal police surveillance center, which he hoped would help investigators find suspects .
Celebrated every year on June 21 since 1982, France’s ‘Make Music Day’ sees musicians and artists from all over the world perform at hundreds of concerts and events across the country.
In addition to concerts with world-famous artists, amateur musicians are encouraged to take to the streets and hold impromptu concerts in public squares – and the tradition has since spread to other countries.
But the joyful events often also lead to violence.
In another incident at the third Make Music venue in the French capital, several people were injured and one person was seriously injured after a brawl broke out between two soldiers early on Saturday morning.
Five people were injured and one suffered serious injuries during the fight, which reportedly involved a knife. Le Figaro reported.
Police managed to end the conflict, which one source said involved six people, and the injured were taken to hospitals.
Three men were later arrested as investigations continued.