More than 240 women have come forward with allegations that a senior French civil servant drugged them during job interviews, in a case drawing comparisons to the high-profile Pelicot trial. The accused, Christian Nègre, is said to have laced coffees and teas with a powerful diuretic, causing the women to urgently need to urinate, often during lengthy walks far from toilets.
Marketing expert Sylvie Delezenne, 45, described her 2015 interview at the culture ministry in Paris. She accepted a coffee from Nègre, who she said handled her cup before returning it. During a subsequent walk through the Tuileries gardens, she experienced an overwhelming need to urinate, trembling and sweating. She eventually had to crouch by a tunnel near the Seine. “I didn’t even know this type of attack existed,” she said.
The allegations came to light in 2018 when a colleague reported Nègre for allegedly photographing a senior official’s legs. Police found a spreadsheet titled “Experiments” where he had noted drugging times and reactions. Nègre was removed from the civil service and placed under formal investigation in 2019 on charges including drugging and sexual assault. His lawyer, Vanessa Stein, declined to comment while the investigation continues.
Louise Beriot, a lawyer for several women, said the alleged druggings were about “power and domination over women’s bodies … through humiliation and control.” The case highlights the issue of “chemical submission” in France, which gained attention after Gisèle Pelicot waived her anonymity in the trial of men who raped her while she was drugged by her ex-husband.
Many women expressed frustration at the slow pace of justice. One, using the pseudonym Émilie, said: “Six years later, we’re still waiting for a trial … The justice process is bringing more trauma than healing.” The investigation continues, with Nègre allowed to work in the private sector pending trial.
