An investigation has been opened in France following the discovery of mysterious bites on nine people who attended one of the main music festivals in the country, the Printemps de Bourges, we learned on Saturday.
The origin of these stings is unknown, according to the authorities. “We don’t know if these are syringes or just pinheads for example,” said Agnès Bonjean, chief of staff to the prefect (state representative) of the Cher department where the festival is held. . “People only felt stings,” she added.
In addition, “there was no sexual assault”, according to the director of the festival, Boris Vedel, who specified that the reports came from “men and women of all ages”.
People who were stings were subjected to a blood sample, in order to determine if substances had been administered to them.
“As of this Saturday, April 23, at 5:00 p.m., nine cases have been reported to us,” Vedel told AFP. This figure was confirmed by the Cher prefecture.
On Friday, four complaints had been filed, according to the Bourges prosecutor’s office, which opened an investigation for “administration of harmful substances”.
The security system for the festival, which ends on Sunday, has been reinforced.
Similar cases of bites have recently been reported in nightclubs in several cities in France.
In Nantes (west), 43 facts have been brought to the attention of the police since mid-February, according to the prosecution. “No screening has revealed the presence of GHB (nicknamed “the rape drug”, Editor’s note) or other toxic substance”, prosecutor Renaud Gaudeul told AFP on Friday, who specified that no suspect had been arrested.
