These young women tell France Télévisions that they were drugged during an evening on Saturday, as part of a football tournament organized in Lille.
It was to be a moment of celebration and reunion between students. During an evening organized by the student office (BDE) of the Lille school of journalism (ESJ), a dozen young women believe they have been drugged, according to information collected by France Télévisions, Wednesday March 22. A report was made to the police by the organizers.
Saturday March 18, at the end of the 2023 inter-school journalism football tournament (TFIEJ), nearly a thousand students met in a nightclub in Lille (Nord). A private party where only students could enter. According to a message from the organizers sent to the various schools, which we were able to consult, the testimonies of several students were collected, and “report drug use, whether by drink or injection”.
Several students admitted to the emergency room
According to our information, a dozen students would be concerned, in particular from the schools of Lannion (Côtes-d’Armor), Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) and Lille. In a press release, the organizers specify that they would have been victims of “shaking, memory loss, fatigue, vomiting, and in some cases, a trace of a sting”.
Joined by France Télévisions, one of these young women, who wishes to remain anonymous, evokes these symptoms, in particular a swollen and heavy arm. She says she did not consume alcohol but felt the same sensations. Admitted to the emergency room on Monday, like several of her comrades, she carried out urine tests and must soon take a blood test to try to explain what could have happened. Since the evening, six complaints have been filed, according to judicial sources.
“Anti-aggression” referents
During this evening, the students of the school of journalism of Lille had set up referents to prevent any sexual or sexist aggression. In particular, areas were planned, quiet, if necessary, for participants expressing the need. Security measures had also been taken with a “strict control of the identity of participants at the entrance to the tournament and distribution of individual bracelets allowing entry to the evening”specifies the BDE of the ESJ Lille.
During the evening, a man would have behaved “odd” with several revelers, learned France Télévisions from participants. “He tried to get students to drink his drink and got angry if they refused”, say witnesses. Asked, the organizers of the event did not wish to answer our questions.