Hundreds of people were arrested overnight at the multicultural ‘Fête de la Musique’ festival across France, with reports of stabbings, sexual assaults, and women being injected with date rape drugs.
The annual music festival, which promotes so-called “world music”, jazz, and other artists, was again marked by violent scenes. According to Le Parisien, citing an Interior Ministry report, at least 148 people had been arrested in Paris as of Monday morning, and 243 throughout France during the multicultural festivities.
To deal with the crowds, nearly 5,000 police officers and gendarmes were called up for active duty, and were assisted by 2,500 firefighters.
One man is said to be fighting for his life following a fight on the sidelines of the festival in Nice. A 41-year-old man who was carrying a weapon was later arrested in connection with the assault.
Meanwhile, a 48-year-old man was arrested in the minority majority Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis after allegedly committing sexual assault against a 12-year-old girl at a Fête de la Musique concert. Additionally, a 15-year-old girl claimed to have been raped on the sidelines of the festival in the Paris suburb of Nogent-sur-Marne.
The festivities were also once again the site of numerous “evening bites”, a trend in which people are surreptitiously stabbed with syringes full of date rape drugs. According to Le Parisien, dozens of women came forward claiming to have been attacked in such a manner.
While often associated with rape or sexual assault at music venues or nightclubs, the practice has also been tied to other crimes, such as theft. Indeed, one of the identified victims on Sunday evening was a man who said that he was stung near the Place de la République by a man who “was walking around with syringes on his belt”.
One woman was raped in a private residence after being injected at the 9th arrondissement at around 9:30 pm on Sunday in Paris. A suspect has been arrested.
Last year, a total of 145 people came forward to authorities, claiming they had been stung at Fête de la Musique events across the country.
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