testimonials, products detected, avenues considered… what we know about the phenomenon

Testimonials are pouring in. For several months, suspicions of “wild bites” in nightclubs, festivals and bars in France have been increasing. Fifty complaints have been lodged to date according to the Ministry of the Interior, by young people suspecting that they have been stung by a syringe and sometimes drugged in night establishments. Some complainants report discomfort, vomiting, or even paralysis of a part of the body. But what do we know about the phenomenon? France Bleu takes stock.

Where were the complaints lodged?

To date, around fifty complaints for suspicion of “wild bites” have been registered in France, the Ministry of the Interior tells France Bleu. The testimonies have multiplied and have been very publicized in recent weeks. And it is sometimes whole groups of people who have decided to file a complaint, after a festival or a night out. For example, 25 complaints against X were filed recently after suspicion of stings during the festival The Insolent in Lanester in Morbihan. A survey for “administration of harmful substance”, as well as “violence with a weapon and premeditation” has been opened. Other festival-goers indicate that they have been victims of the same facts on the sidelines of the Printemps de Bourges, four complaints have been filed.

In Grenoble, at least 14 complaints have been filed since the beginning of April by people who have frequented nightclubs and bars, and two investigations have been opened for “administration of harmful substance”said the prosecution.

In Nantes and its agglomeration, since the end of February, 45 proven facts have been identified in 18 different places, said the prosecutor. Among the most recent testimonies, that of a person in a concert hall. An investigation has been opened for “administration of substances harmful to health” et “deliberate violence with a weapon” due to the presence of sting. It is also a dozen young people who filed a complaint in Béziers.

In Rennes, no less than fifteen investigations have been opened since December and entrusted to the departmental security after reports of bites, mainly affecting women, said the prosecution.

Complaints have also been filed by one, two or three people in Périgueux, Saint-Malo, Roanne, Tours, or Toulouse. Each time, investigations were opened, in most cases to “administration of harmful substances”. Finally, at the beginning of April in Amiens, the police launched investigations after the hospitalization of a 23-year-old young woman who explained “was very ill” after receiving an injection in the arm.

What symptoms are described?

Some complainants explained that they only felt the stinging sensation and/or then saw bruises, red dots or redness appear on different parts of the body, such as the thighs, arms, back, hips, buttocks or even the abdomen. , suggesting traces of a syringe prick. Others suspect they have been drugged and also report severe symptoms, leading to fainting or fainting.

Only the young woman who was in Amiens at the beginning of April had to be hospitalized. The firefighters intervened to rescue her in a nightclub when she suffered from headaches, nausea, dizziness and tingling in the legs. They found a mark on her body and transported her to the University Hospital of Amiens.

In Saint-Malo, a young girl and a young man aged 18 and 19, who both filed a complaint, claim to have been taken vomiting, and evoke memory problems, reports France Bleu Armorique.

To have been drugged, it is the certainty of this young Périgourdin who testifies on France Bleu Périgord of“weird effects”. “It happened all of a sudden”. While out clubbing with friends, after an hour or two he says he feels the urge to sit down. “I yawn repeatedly (…) I had kinds of hallucinationsit was blurry, very blurry.” The next day, he discovered a red dot on his abdomen, and claimed to have been “stuck in bed” ensuite.

Hot flashes, paralysis of the legs… this is what Arthur, a high school student from Biterrois at France Bleu Hérault, explains having felt when he went out to a night establishment.

“In two minutes I have no longer mastered anything” – Arthur, high school student in Béziers

“My head was spinning. A problem of equilibrium. I couldn’t move my body anymore. My heart raced. It happened very quickly after this bite between one and two minutes. I had not drunk alcohol before, nor taken narcotics“he testifies.

Is GHB, the “rape drug”, in question?

For the time being, the mystery remains whole concerning the product or products that have potentially been injected. No syringe could be found by the investigators and to date, all of the toxicological analyzes ordered by the public prosecutor’s offices in different regions have not revealed the presence of GHB, a drug whose presence is sometimes difficult to prove: GHB is detectable in urine up to 12 hours after taking, barely a few hours in the blood, according to Drogues Info Service. However, in some cases, “withdrawals [sont] intervened more than 17 hours after the facts”, in particular specified the parquet floor of Grenoble.

However, in Isère, a 20-year-old young man assures us that his medical examinations revealed the presence of GHB in his body.

In some cases, other narcotics are detected, as in Grenoble, where on the last analyzes carried out, one made it possible to highlight traces of cannabis in one of the complainants, indicates the prosecution, which however makes no connection. between this substance and the bites.

What track are you considering?

The phenomenon remains all the more mysterious since no perpetrator has been identified at this stage of the investigations, and there is no track envisaged concerning the motive of those responsible. In addition, the victims generally did not suffer any violence or theft. In Rennes, for example, the prosecutor Philippe Astruc indicates that of the fifteen procedures recorded, it could not be established that“a single presence of a suspicious person at the time of the bite, no attempted robbery or sexual assault afterwards”. “To date no one has therefore been implicated in relation to this phenomenon which remains without tangible explanation“, he adds. In his press briefing on March 14, Nantes prosecutor Renaud Gaudeul said that a person had been placed in police custody for a few hours at the end of February, before being released. It is therefore impossible to know if there is a real increase in these malicious acts.

What are the authorities saying?

This is not currently a subject on the table of the Ministry of Health, and therefore a public health issue, since the potential substances injected are not identified. The ministry sticks to recalling the care system in the event of a suspected bite: go to the emergency room as quickly as possible, and report the bite to the emergency doctor. If proven, a Blood Exposure Accident (BEA) prevention protocol will then be triggered, to manage and/or rule out the risk of HIV and hepatitis B.

For their part, the services of the Ministry of the Interior, contacted by France Bleu, also recall the procedure to be followed in the event of suspicion of a bite. : “If you think you are a victim, it is important to file a complaint with the gendarmerie or at the police station as soon as possible. As part of the legal proceedings, a toxicological analysis may, if necessary, be carried out collection of evidence.”