Ms. remembers the syringe attack at the music festival in France

Ms. remembers the syringe attack at the music festival in France

It was about 1:30 a.m. when the crowds were cleared in the streets of Bordeaux and Manon felt the stitch of a syringe in her arm.

"Someone has typed my left forearm. I started to feel a deafness in the muscle, similar to a vaccination reaction. After about 30 minutes the puncture was opened," she recalled in an interview with Cnn.

Although she didn't know what was injected - or who had done it - she wanted to "not panic".

The incidents at the music festival

The 22-year-old Manon was one of almost 150 people in france , who reported during a country-wide music festival at the weekend that they with Spray . According to the Interior Ministry, it is unclear whether drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB were used in the "needle attacks" that took place across the country and were apparently carried out by several perpetrators.

Before the festival that moved millions of people on the streets, a feminist influencer had warned that calls were published on social media to attack women with syringes.

experiences and education

After a stay in the emergency room from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. href = "https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2FWWw.tiktok.com%2F%40strrmanon%2Fvideo%2F7518 702393526144278 & DATA = 05%7C02%7Cnn.com%7c3934c6b075e9487a165608ddb3Fea69%7c0eb48714459BC72D0ECD6 8F1F39%7C0%7C638809277288669%7CTWFPBGZSB3D8EYJFBXB0EU1HCGKISILYOIIIIIIIIIIIIII cisilaioijxaw4zm iisikfoijoitwfpbcisilduiJoyfq%3D%3C0%7c%7c & sdata = qwfvwif1blvdvuyk9uvjmjmjv4y89%2BSPb19iykd%2F8%3D & reserved = 0 " Target = "_ blank"> Video About her experiences on Tikkok.

"It was important to me to create awareness because I had not seen any reports from those affected," said Manon, who did not want to give their last name for security reasons. "We were warned in social media to be careful, but I think people want to know more - how it happens, what symptoms occur and how the Situation develops. It calmed down to talk about it, because at that point I was completely alone."

police investigation

After returning home from the clinic, Manon filed a complaint with the police. "It is important because if we are too lax and say 'Oh, others will complain', nothing will change. I thought maybe that could have an impact."

Since Saturday, the French authorities have arrested 14 men between the ages of 19 and 44, including both French citizens and foreigners, as police spokeswoman Agathe Foucault said on Tuesday on the radio France. So far, however, there have been no arrests in connection with the syringe attacks.

"The police did not identify any perpetrators behind the injections, but the incidents have been confirmed," said Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin in an interview with the BFMTV.

The minister announced that there were also action against those who had called on the attacks online: "We implement a law enforcement policy to pursue those who are responsible for this extremely health -hazardous syringe attacks on women."

The motivation of the perpetrators

The feminist influencer Abrège Soeur had warned of men who are planning such attacks. She told CNN that the aim of the perpetrators was not only to numb women, but also to spread fear. "When people start saying that there will be needle attacks, it spreads like a rumor - some mention it in group chats, others take it up, it is simply reinforced," she added. "We have to help women feel safer."

Manon, who has to wait three weeks for her toxicological results, said that she had "hardly slept in the past few days". Nevertheless, she refuses to be intimidated by her experience. "The Fête de la Musique is supposed to be a time of good vibes, music, dancing and fun. Someone wanted to ruin this moment and kill this spirit. I said to myself that I could not be defeated. I don't want to be sad or angry. I don't want to leave you the victory."