
Wave of syringe attacks mar France's street music festival
PARIS, France — French police have detained twelve suspects after 145 people reported being pricked with syringes during the country's annual street music festival, officials said Sunday.
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 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 inconscious 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.
Across France, 12 suspects have been arrested, the interior ministry said. Among them were four people in the southwestern city of Angouleme suspected of having targeted around 50 victims, said 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 hospitalised after being found sitting on the street with stab wounds to the lower abdomen.
Thirteen members of law enforcement were also injured.
The prefect of the Paris police, Laurent Nunez, said that 'no major incident has been reported'.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CTV News
14 hours ago
- CTV News
Head-on collision in Pickering leaves three people dead, including 82-year-old
Video Chopper 24 was up over where the crash happened on Highway 7 near Concession Road 6, leaving three people dead.


CBC
a day ago
- CBC
Calgary police officer charged with 2nd-degree murder in 2023 shooting
A Calgary police officer has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder after a 2023 police chase ended with a shooting that left two men dead.


CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Ottawa police charge man in connection with double stabbing
The Ottawa Police Service says a 29-year-old man is facing several charges following a double-stabbing on Saturday. Officers were called to an address on Bareille Snow Street in the Thorncliffe Park area at around 11:45 a.m. Police said in a news release that the two victims and the suspect were drinking together when a fight broke out. During the argument, the suspect allegedly stabbed the two victims and ran away. The victims were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect was later arrested and is now charged with two counts each of assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon, and one count each of possession of a weapon and failure to comply with a probation order. Police are asking anyone with information about this incident to contact the East Criminal Investigation Section at 613-236-1222-3566.