Over 100 stabbed with needles in France: What happened during street music festival?

As many as 145 people said they were stabbed with needles during a countrywide music festival in France.

The shocking attacks happened as millions gathered over the weekend to celebrate the Fete de la Musique. Authorities said the turnout in Paris was “unprecedented”.

According to the country’s interior ministry, 145 people across France said they were stabbed with needles. Out of these, the Paris police recorded 13 such incidents in the city.

So what happened during the festival? And why were people stabbed with syringes?

Here’s what we know:

What happened during France’s Fete de la Musique festival?

The interior ministry said 145 people across the country reported being stabbed with needles during outdoor music events.

In Paris, police said 13 such cases were recorded.

Before the celebrations, some posts on social media had called for women to be targeted during the festival.

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Notably, officials have not confirmed whether these were cases of needle spiking involving drugs like Rohypnol or GHB, which are sometimes used to make victims confused or unconscious and easier to harm.

“Some victims were taken to hospital for toxicological tests,” the ministry said.

In Paris, prosecutors said three people, including a 15-year-old girl and an 18-year-old man, said they had been stabbed with needles in separate incidents. All three later felt unwell.

Across France, 12 people were arrested in connection with the needle attacks, the interior ministry said. This includes four people in Angouleme who are suspected of targeting around 50 people, according to police.

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Two men were also arrested in Metz. Regional broadcaster France 3 said one man was found with a syringe and a woman who said she had been stabbed recognised the second man.

In total, over 370 people were detained across France during the festival for various offences. Nearly 90 of these arrests took place in Paris.

Fourteen people at the event were seriously hurt. This included a 17-year-old found on a street with stab wounds to the lower stomach and taken to the hospital.

Thirteen police officers were also injured. Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said that “no major incident has been reported”.

Dr Adam R Winstock, founder of the Global Drug Survey and a professor at University College London, told The New York Times that needle spiking is a “remarkably rare event”.

He added that it is “not the biggest threat out there”, saying that people are more often taken advantage of when they are drunk or on drugs.

What happened in 2022?

In 2022, there was a surge in reports of people claiming they had been stabbed with syringes at clubs, bars, music festivals, and even theatres, according to The Guardian.

At the time, the government warned people going out at night to stay alert. It also advised anyone who believed they had been pricked with a needle to contact the police immediately and get a toxicology test.

Some of these complaints were linked to the 2022 Fete de la Musique. Over the year, several hundred cases were reported in cities such as Nantes, Grenoble, and Toulouse.

AFP said a police memo from 2022 stated that syringe marks were usually found on the arms, back, or buttocks, and most victims did not see who had attacked them.

Notably, a British Parliament report from that year also said there had been over 1,000 such cases in the UK between September 2021 and the end of December 2022.

The report, based on responses from more than 3,000 victims and witnesses, said police data showed nearly 90 per cent of the needle spiking cases happened at night in places like pubs and nightclubs. Some incidents were also reported at festivals and house parties.

With inputs from agencies