British woman ‘gang-raped’ after Fête de la Musique music festival in France

A British tourist was reportedly sexually assaulted after she attended a music festival in France. She was found crying and holding underwear in central Paris on the weekend

A British woman was allegedly gang raped after partying at a music festival in France.

The tourist was discovered crying whilst holding onto her underwear in the street in Paris on Saturday. Investigators fear the men could have filmed the twisted attack.

The incident is said to have taken place after she attended the Fête de la Musique music event. She was found in tears after she left the concert at the Olympia hall, which was one of hundreds of events which were held to mark the ‘Fête de la Musique’ – or ‘Make Music Day’ in English.

She was picked up by firefighters who rushed her to hospital in the early hours of the morning. The victim underwent medical tests at Cochin hospital and told the police that several men dragged her to a secluded area where they sexually assaulted her and stole her phone, reports Le Figaro. French authorities have launched an investigation into the incident. No arrests have been made at this time.

An investigating source said: “She was walking back from a concert at the Olympia music venue and says she was approached by a group of men. They surrounded her, and attacked her, and the fear is that they recorded their actions using their mobile phones.”

The incident happened shortly after five teenagers were injected with a mysterious substance as they celebrated another Make Music Day event in the Saint-Maur-des-Fossés suburb of Paris. The victims, aged 13-17, alerted medics at the event after they felt stings in their arms. Witnesses at the scene said the girls looked nauseous and explained that they displayed dizziness and reported a sudden fever, according to local media.

They are said to have shown marks on their arms which are likened to a needle mark. The mayor of Saint-Maur addressed the injecting incident and said: “It is an extremely painful phenomenon and difficult to stop. Security had been considerably reinforced, and we had deployed ephemeral cameras whose images were transmitted in real-time to the urban surveillance centre of the municipal police. These images may help the investigation.”

There were multiple alleged crimes committed at Friday night’s Fête de la Musique, including an alleged attempted murder. Four people have been taken into police custody after a knife fight involving two serving soldiers, said a spokesman for Paris prosecutors.

An investigation into “attempted intentional murder has been entrusted to the 14th arrondissement police station,” said a spokesman. “He said ‘six people had to be separated,’ and ‘five of them were wounded, one seriously, who was hospitalised.”

There are frequent complaints about the lack of policing at the Fête de la Musique, which is always attended by thousands of tourists, including many from Britain. It extends across most of the city, and there are frequent complaints about disorder, vandalism and littering.

Despite this, local councils allow it to continue, with police being ordered to keep a low profile so as not to spoil the liberal atmosphere. In 2023, there were 93 rapes committed in public places in Paris, compared to 92 in 2022.