Latest news with #needleSpiking
Free Malaysia Today
25-06-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
Wave of syringe attacks mar France's street music festival
Millions took to the streets for Fete de la Musique, with authorities reporting 'unprecedented crowds' in Paris. (AFP pic) PARIS : French police have detained twelve suspects after 145 people reported being pricked with syringes during the country's annual street music festival, officials said today. 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, posts on Snapchat and other social media had called for targeting women during the festivities. The interior ministry said 145 victims reported being stabbed with needles across the country, with Paris police reporting 13 cases in the capital. Officials did not specify if they were cases of so-called needle spiking with date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB, used by attackers to render victims confused or inconscious and vulnerable to sexual assault. But at least three people reported feeling unwell, and 'Some victims were taken to hospital for toxicological tests,' the ministry said In Paris, investigations were opened after three people including a 15-year-old girl and an 18-year-old male, reported being stabbed in three different locations in Paris, prosecutors said. All three suffered from feeling unwell. Twelve people suspected of being responsible for the stabbings were arrested, the interior ministry said. They are believed to have targeted around 50 victims, according to a police source. Apart from those suspects, more than 370 people were detained during the festival on various charges, including nearly 90 people in Paris. Fourteen participants in the festivities were seriously injured, including a 17-year-old who was hospitalised after being found sitting on the street with stab wounds to the lower abdomen. Thirteen members of law enforcement were also injured.
RNZ News
24-06-2025
- RNZ News
Woman recalls 'numb' feeling after syringe attack at French music festival
By Lisa Klaassen and Saskya Vandoorne , CNN Music enthusiasts gather in the streets during France's annual street music festival, the Fete de la Musique, in Paris, France, on June 21, 2025. Photo: AFP/JEROME GILLES It was around 1:30am, after the crowds had thinned from the streets of Bordeaux, when Manon felt the prick of a hypodermic needle going into her arm. "Someone tapped my left forearm. I started to feel numb in the muscle, like you do when you get a vaccine. After about 30 minutes, the injection mark appeared," she recalled to CNN. Despite not knowing what she had been injected with - or who had done it - she said she "didn't want to panic". Manon, 22, was one of nearly 150 people in France who reported being pricked with syringes during a nation-wide street music festival at the weekend. According to the interior ministry, it remained unclear if date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB were used in the "needle spiking" attacks, which took place across the country and appeared to have involved multiple perpetrators. Ahead of the festival, which drew crowds of millions of people to the streets, a feminist influencer had warned that calls had been made on social media for women to be targeted with syringes. After spending 4am to 7am on Sunday in the emergency room, Manon shared a video of her experience on TikTok. "It was important for me to raise awareness, because I hadn't seen any testimonies from people who had been injected," Manon said, who declined to give her last name for safety reasons. "We had been told on social media to be careful, but I think people want to know more - how it happens, the symptoms, how it unfolds. It reassured me to talk about it, because at the time, I was completely alone." After she got home from the hospital, Manon filed a police report. "It's important because if we're too lax, if we say, 'oh, others will file complaints', nothing ever changes. I told myself maybe it can have an impact." Since Saturday (US Time), French police have detained 14 men - aged between 19 and 44, including both French citizens and foreign nationals, police spokeswoman Agathe Foucault told Radio France. No arrests have been made in connection with the needle spikings. "The police have not identified any perpetrators behind the injections, but the incidents are confirmed," Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin told CNN affiliate BFMTV on Tuesday (US Time). The minister said authorities would also pursue those who had called for the attacks online. "We are implementing a criminal policy to prosecute those responsible on social media for these very unhealthy injection games targeting women," Darmanin said. The feminist influencer Abrège Soeur, who before the festival had warned men on social media were planning such attacks, told CNN the perpetrators' "objective isn't only to drug women. It's to instil fear in them." "When people start saying that there will be needle attacks, it spreads in the form of rumour - some people mention it in group chats, others pick it up, it just gets amplified," she said, adding, "We need to help women feel safer." Manon, who faces a wait of three weeks for her toxicology results, said she had "barely slept the last few days" - but she refused to be cowed by her experience. "The Fête de la Musique is meant to be a time of good vibes, music, dancing, having fun. Someone wanted to ruin that moment, to kill that spirit. I told myself I wasn't going to let it defeat me. I don't want to be sad or angry. I don't want to let them win." - CNN
CNN
24-06-2025
- CNN
‘I started to feel numb': Woman recalls syringe attack at French music festival
It was around 1.30 a.m., after the crowds had thinned from the streets of Bordeaux, when Manon felt the prick of a hypodermic needle going into her arm. 'Someone tapped my left forearm. I started to feel numb in the muscle, like you do when you get a vaccine. After about 30 minutes, the injection mark appeared,' she recalled to CNN. Despite not knowing what she had been injected with – or who had done it – she said she 'didn't want to panic.' Manon, 22, was one of nearly 150 people in France who reported being pricked with syringes during a nationwide street music festival at the weekend. According to the interior ministry, it remains unclear if date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB were used in the 'needle spiking' attacks, which took place across the country and appear to have involved multiple perpetrators. Ahead of the festival, which drew crowds of millions of people to the streets, a feminist influencer had warned that calls had been made on social media for women to be targeted with syringes. After spending 4 a.m. to 7.a.m on Sunday in the emergency room, Manon shared a video of her experience on TikTok. 'It was important for me to raise awareness, because I hadn't seen any testimonies from people who had been injected,' said Manon, who declined to give her last name for safety reasons. 'We had been told on social media to be careful, but I think people want to know more – how it happens, the symptoms, how it unfolds. It reassured me to talk about it, because at the time, I was completely alone.' After she got home from the hospital, Manon filed a police report. 'It's important because if we're too lax, if we say, 'oh, others will file complaints', nothing ever changes. I told myself maybe it can have an impact.' Since Saturday, French police have detained 14 men – aged between 19 and 44 and including both French citizens and foreign nationals, police spokeswoman Agathe Foucault told Radio France Tuesday – but have made no arrests in connection with the needle spikings. 'The police have not identified any perpetrators behind the injections, but the incidents are confirmed,' Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin told CNN affiliate BFMTV Tuesday. The minister said authorities would also pursue those who had called for the attacks online. 'We are implementing a criminal policy to prosecute those responsible on social media for these very unhealthy injection games targeting women,' Darmanin said. The feminist influencer Abrège Soeur, who before the festival had warned men on social media were planning such attacks, told CNN the perpetrators' 'objective isn't only to drug women. It's to instill fear in them.' 'When people start saying that there will be needle attacks, it spreads in the form of rumor –– some people mention it in group chats, others pick it up, it just gets amplified,' she said, adding, 'We need to help women feel safer.' Manon, who faces a wait of three weeks for her toxicology results, said she had 'barely slept the last few days' – but she refuses to be cowed by her experience. 'The Fête de la Musique is meant to be a time of good vibes, music, dancing, having fun. Someone wanted to ruin that moment, to kill that spirit. I told myself I wasn't going to let it defeat me. I don't want to be sad or angry. I don't want to let them win.'
Times of Oman
24-06-2025
- Times of Oman
France: 145 festivalgoers jabbed with syringes
Paris: French police on Sunday detained 12 suspects after scores of people reported being pricked with syringes at events across the country for an annual street music festival. The Fete de la Musique took place all over France, with authorities reporting "unprecedented crowds" in Paris. The French Interior Ministry said 145 people nationwide had reported being stabbed with needles during outdoor music events. 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. The drugs are used by attackers to render victims confused and vulnerable to sexual assault. "Some victims were taken to hospital for toxicological tests," the ministry said. In Paris, investigations were opened after three people, including a 15-year-old girl and an 18-year-old male, reported being stabbed in separate incidents across Paris, prosecutors said. All three reported feeling unwell. Four people in the city of Angouleme were reportedly suspected of having targeted around 50 victims. Before the free music festival began, French feminist influencer Abrege Soeur warned on TikTok that there had been calls on social media for women to be targeted with syringes during the festivities. She did not reveal where or how she came across the information. Police said more than 370 people were detained nationwide during the festival on various charges. Similar incidents took place in June 2022, when several suspects around France were detained for allegedly pricking people with a needle in nightclubs or at concerts.
CNN
23-06-2025
- CNN
145 people pricked with syringes at France street music festival
French police detained 12 people on Sunday after 145 individuals reported being pricked with syringes during a nationwide street music festival, according to France's interior ministry. The attacks took place across France, with Paris police confirming at least 13 cases in the capital. According to the interior ministry, it remains unclear whether the cases of 'needle spiking' – in which attackers use syringes to inject victims typically in the arm, leg or buttocks – involved date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB, which can leave individuals disoriented, unconscious and vulnerable to assault. 'The ministry is taking this very seriously,' a spokeswoman from the interior ministry told CNN on Monday. 'Toxicology tests are being done and the investigation is ongoing.' Millions of people took to the streets over the weekend for the nationwide celebration Fête de la Musique, with officials describing the crowds in Paris as 'unprecedented.' Speaking to French broadcaster CNews, Laurent Nuñez, the Paris police chief, said there were three to four times as many people in Paris as normal. Ahead of the festival, feminist influencers like Abrège Soeur warned that calls had been made on social media for women to be targeted with syringes. 'These are extremely serious incidents,' Nuñez told CNews, calling the online calls to inject women 'completely idiotic.' In Paris, prosecutors said investigations were opened after three people, including a 15-year-old girl and an 18-year-old man, reported being pricked in separate incidents across the city. All three said they felt unwell afterward, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. In addition to the needle attacks, police arrested 371 people across France on Saturday night for various incidents, nearly 90 of them in Paris, the ministry said.
