France’s annual Fête de la Musique street festival turned into a nightmare over the weekend, as multiple stabbings, sexual assaults, and robberies were reported, leading to the arrest of 243 people nationwide, according to a report by The Daily Mail.
Women were among the main targets during the festival, with police receiving more than ten reports of syringe attacks involving unknown substances. Authorities also recorded multiple sexual assault cases, including the alleged rape of a young woman in Paris and a 15-year-old girl in Nogent-sur-Marne.
Meanwhile, violence erupted across Paris after 11 PM, as overcrowding near Notre Dame Cathedral led to fights, vandalism, attempted shop break-ins, and clashes that prompted police to deploy tear gas. The capital alone saw 148 arrests.
Over two million people took part in the free outdoor music festival in Paris, an event that draws thousands of British and Irish visitors annually. However, according to The Daily Mail, the celebration deteriorated into extensive chaos, with witnesses saying the streets looked like a scene from an apocalypse.
The unrest spread beyond Paris, with separate stabbing incidents reported in Toulouse and nearby Colomiers. Despite the deployment of nearly 5,000 police officers, authorities struggled to contain the disorder, while social media users drew comparisons between the festival's past and present atmosphere.