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145 People Jabbed With Needles at French Music Festival

Originally appeared on E! Online

Fête de la Musique ended with multiple arrests.

While attendees across France enjoyed music at the annual nationwide street festival June 21, 12 individuals were detained for pricking at least 145 people with syringes, according to France’s interior ministry, per CNN.

“The ministry is taking this very seriously,” a spokeswoman from the interior ministry told the outlet June 23. “Toxicology tests are being done and the investigation is ongoing.”

Officials did not share what was in the syringes, but told The Guardian that they have opened an investigation after three people—including a 15-year-old girl and an 18-year-old boy—were all jabbed in separate locations of Paris. (All three reported feeling unwell after the alleged attack.)

Local law enforcement told the outlet that 13 cases took place in Paris, as well as in other cities in France, including Angoulême, where four suspects allegedly stabbed 50 of the nearly 150 total victims.

E! News has reached out to French officials for comment and has not yet heard back.

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Although Paris Police Chief Laurent Nuñez emphasized his concerns over the alleged attacks, he told French-language outlet CNews June 22 that the festival “went well.” Despite millions of attendees nationwide, which he described as “unprecedented crowds,” there were “no major incidents.”

This isn’t the first time French residents have been concerned about being pricked with needles. The Associated Press shared in June 2022 that more than 300 people reported that they were jabbed at nightclubs or concerts that year.

Fete De La Musique 2025, France, Needle Jab

It was an issue that swept Europe as authorities in Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands were investigating the uptick in “needle spikings.”

Dr. Emmanuel Puskarczyk, who had taken a leading role in dealing with the investigation, told the outlet at the time, “We didn't find any drugs or substances or objective proof which attest to ... administration of a substance with wrongful or criminal intent.”

However, the head of the poison control center in the city of Nancy added, “What we fear the most is people contracting HIV, hepatitis or any infectious disease.”