It was around 1.30 a.m., after the crowds had thinned from the streets of Bordeaux, when Manon felt the prick of a hypodermic needle going into her arm. <\/p>\n
Despite not knowing what she had been injected with \u2013 or who had done it \u2013 she said she \u201cdidn\u2019t want to panic.\u201d <\/p>\n
Manon, 22, was one of nearly 150 people in France who reported being pricked with syringes during a nationwide street music festival at the weekend. According to the interior ministry, it remains unclear if date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB were used in the \u201cneedle spiking\u201d attacks, which took place across the country and appear to have involved multiple perpetrators. <\/p>\n
Ahead of the festival, which drew crowds of millions of people to the streets, a feminist influencer had warned that calls had been made on social media for women to be targeted with syringes. <\/p>\n
After spending 4 a.m. to 7.a.m on Sunday in the emergency room, Manon shared a video of her experience on TikTok. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was important for me to raise awareness, because I hadn\u2019t seen any testimonies from people who had been injected,\u201d said Manon, who declined to give her last name for safety reasons. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe had been told on social media to be careful, but I think people want to know more \u2013 how it happens, the symptoms, how it unfolds. It reassured me to talk about it, because at the time, I was completely alone.\u201d <\/p>\n
After she got home from the hospital, Manon filed a police report. \u201cIt\u2019s important because if we\u2019re too lax, if we say, \u2018oh, others will file complaints\u2019, nothing ever changes. I told myself maybe it can have an impact.\u201d <\/p>\n
Since Saturday, French police have detained 14 men \u2013 aged between 19 and 44 and including both French citizens and foreign nationals, police spokeswoman Agathe Foucault told Radio France Tuesday \u2013 but have made no arrests in connection with the needle spikings. <\/p>\n
The minister said authorities would also pursue those who had called for the attacks online. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are implementing a criminal policy to prosecute those responsible on social media for these very unhealthy injection games targeting women,\u201d Darmanin said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people start saying that there will be needle attacks, it spreads in the form of rumor \u2013\u2013 some people mention it in group chats, others pick it up, it just gets amplified,\u201d she said, adding, \u201cWe need to help women feel safer.\u201d <\/p>\n
Manon, who faces a wait of three weeks for her toxicology results, said she had \u201cbarely slept the last few days\u201d \u2013 but she refuses to be cowed by her experience. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe F\u00eate de la Musique is meant to be a time of good vibes, music, dancing, having fun. Someone wanted to ruin that moment, to kill that spirit. I told myself I wasn\u2019t going to let it defeat me. I don\u2019t want to be sad or angry. I don\u2019t want to let them win.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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