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24-07-2024
PARIS: French police are investigating after an Australian woman said she was raped by five men in in central Paris.
The 25-year-old woman took refuge in a kebab shop in the Pigalle district on Saturday morning with her dress partially torn off, local media reported.
No arrests have yet been made but prosecutors confirmed officers are treating the investigation as “gang rape”.
The incident happened just days before the opening of the 2024 Olympics in the French capital.
According to French newspaper Le Parisien, restaurant owners called for help when they saw the woman’s state.
She was looked after by firefighters following the alleged assault and was later taken to Bichat hospital to be examined by medical professionals.
The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said police were investigating the allegations and that CCTV footage was being looked at.
“The investigation into the charge of gang rape likely to have been committed on the night of 19 to 20 July has been entrusted to the second judicial police district,” it said.
There is currently a huge police presence on the ground in Paris in order to maintain the safety of those in the city during the Olympics, which begin on Friday.
Officers have been patrolling in big numbers since last week in Paris, with armed guards around the River Seine.
Several security zones have also been set up around the city with Paris split into zones.
Anyone wishing to enter certain zones, including the Eiffel Tower, will have to apply for a special games pass on a platform run by police.
Alarmed customers and staff crowd around her in a bid to comfort her when a man enters the kebab shop.
A customer then confronts the man and he flees.
Police arrived minutes later, with the woman later telling officers the men were “of African appearance.”
She was taken to Bichat Hospital.
The owner of the shop told 7News that the woman could not stop crying and her dress was damaged.
Other reports said the woman was carrying her underwear in her hand and that she had had her phone stolen.
The woman, whose alleged attack comes days before the Olympic Games is due to start, was planning on traveling back to Australia but will now stay in Paris to help police with their investigation.
The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said an investigation into the incident was underway.
“The investigation into the charge of gang rape likely to have been committed on the night of July 19 to 20 has been entrusted to the second judicial police district,” Paris Prosecutor’s office said.
Police have launched a major operation following the incident.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told 7NEWS the Australian Embassy in Paris is “making urgent inquiries with French authorities following reports of an Australian citizen assaulted in Paris.”
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade stands ready to provide consular assistance,” it said.
The Alliance Paris police union said investigators will “do everything to quickly identify the individuals to justice,” according to Le Parisien. (Int’l News Desk)
