Arrests after 'syringe attack' at French street music festival

FrenchFrench police have detained 12 suspects after 145 people reported being pricked with syringes during the country’s annual street music festival, officials said on Sunday, reports The Guardian.

Millions of people took to the streets across France on Saturday evening for the Fête 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 unconscious and vulnerable to sexual assault.

Read more of this report from The Guardian.