12 arrested as wave of syringe attacks mars France street music festival
French police have detained 12 suspects after 145 people reported being pricked with syringes during the country's annual street music festival, officials said on Sunday.
Advertisement
Millions of people took to the streets across France on Saturday evening for the
Fete de la Musique, with authorities reporting 'unprecedented crowds' in Paris.
Before the party – a 24-hour music marathon that is part of the Year of France in China celebration – posts on social media had called for women to be targeted during the festivities.
The interior ministry said 145 victims across the country had reported being stabbed with needles. Paris police reported 13 cases in the capital.
Officials did not say if these were cases of so-called needle spiking with date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB, used by attackers to render victims confused or unconscious and vulnerable to sexual assault.
Advertisement
'Some victims were taken to hospital for toxicological tests,' the ministry said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
12 arrested as wave of syringe attacks mars France street music festival
French police have detained 12 suspects after 145 people reported being pricked with syringes during the country's annual street music festival, officials said on Sunday. Advertisement Millions of people took to the streets across France on Saturday evening for the Fete de la Musique, with authorities reporting 'unprecedented crowds' in Paris. Before the party – a 24-hour music marathon that is part of the Year of France in China celebration – posts on social media had called for women to be targeted during the festivities. The interior ministry said 145 victims across the country had reported being stabbed with needles. Paris police reported 13 cases in the capital. Officials did not say if these were cases of so-called needle spiking with date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB, used by attackers to render victims confused or unconscious and vulnerable to sexual assault. Advertisement 'Some victims were taken to hospital for toxicological tests,' the ministry said.
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Gunmen kill bride, injure 3 in attack on French wedding party
A 27-year-old bride was killed when gunmen attacked a wedding party in a village in southeastern France, with one of the assailants also dying during the assault, prosecutors said on Sunday. Advertisement Three other people, including a child, were injured in the attack, which plunged the tiny picturesque village of Goult into shock. According to a source close to the investigation, the violence might be linked to possible drug-related score-settling. At around 4.30am local time the newlyweds were leaving the party when they were confronted by masked assailants who opened fire. The deceased are the bride and one of the attackers, who was hit 'in return', said Avignon prosecutor Florence Galtier without providing further details. Advertisement According to earlier information, the attacker was run over by the bride and groom's car.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Brave victims help bring brutal rapist from Chinese mainland to justice
The life jail term imposed last week on a PhD student who preyed on Chinese women in London and on the mainland offers, as one detective suggested, a small measure of comfort to his traumatised victims. But the full extent of Zou Zhenhao's crimes have still not been uncovered. The investigation by British police will – and must – continue. Zou, 28, who studied at University College London, was convicted of raping 10 women, three in Britain and seven in China, between 2021 and 2023. But the Metropolitan Police believe he may have attacked as many as 50 more. They appealed for others to come forward after his trial in March. Since then, 24 women have emerged, including some who live in China. The case is deeply distressing. Zou befriended women on social media, using the name Pakho, and invited them back to his flat. He drugged them and raped them while they were stupefied, unable to resist. Only two of the 10 victims in the case had been identified at the time of his trial. Another has since come forward. The remaining guilty verdicts were based on video evidence.
