French Official Faces Trial Over Drugging Nearly 250 Women in Ministry Job Interviews
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 19
French Official Faces Trial Over Drugging Nearly 250 Women in Ministry Job Interviews
2 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 19
Summary
Nearly 250 women now accuse former French culture ministry official Christian Nègre of drugging them during job interviews between 2009 and 2018, and he is under formal investigation awaiting trial.
Police suspect he used diuretics to force urgent urination and humiliation; accusers say he offered bad-tasting coffee, steered them outdoors and watched as they struggled to find toilets.
A spreadsheet allegedly found on his computer — titled "Experiments P" — recorded interview times, when the drug was administered, how long women took to urinate and what underwear they wore.
The case began after a colleague caught Nègre taking an upskirt photo in 2018; he was suspended, fired in 2019, and investigators say he admitted imposing humiliating situations on women.
Victims and advocates say the years-long investigation shows how hard France still finds drug-facilitated sexual assault cases to detect and prosecute, even as new testing programs expand.