French police have arrested 12 people after nearly 150 individuals reported being pricked with syringes across France during the annual "Fête de la Musique" summer festival.

The outdoor festival took place last Saturday all over France, with authorities noting "unprecedented crowds" in Paris.

The Interior Ministry stated that 145 people nationwide reported being stabbed with needles, with Paris police reporting 13 cases in the capital. More than a dozen women and underage girls were hospitalized.

"The ministry is taking this very seriously," a spokeswoman from the Interior Ministry said. "Some victims were taken to hospital for toxicological tests, and the investigation is ongoing," the ministry added. Officials have not yet confirmed if these were cases of "needle spiking" with date-rape drugs like Rohypnol or GHB, but victims reported feeling confused and vulnerable to sexual assault.

Online Warnings and Arrests

Before the festival, social media influencers like Abrège Soeur had warned that there were calls online for women to be targeted with syringes.

Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez told French broadcaster CNews that these were "extremely serious incidents," calling the online calls to inject women "completely idiotic."

Two men were also arrested in Metz, a city in northeastern France, on suspicion of syringe attacks.

Metz Mayor François Grosdidier took to social media to address the situation: "On social networks, a call for syringe assaults has been launched during the Music Festivals in major cities. It happened in two other cities in Moselle and all over France… 17 young girls (ages 14-20) were victimized in #Metz."

Grosdidier continued: "A description of a syringe attacker was shared with the Urban Supervision Center (CSU) to help locate him on video footage, as well as with the municipal and national police. Municipal police officers identified him on Rue Serpe noise, arrested him, and handed him over to the National Police and judicial authorities. I hope the investigation especially examining his mobile phone – will help identify other attackers."

Police reported that over 370 people were arrested nationwide during the festival for various offenses. Fourteen attendees were seriously injured, including a 17-year-old who was hospitalized after being found with stab wounds to his lower abdomen. Thirteen law enforcement officers were also injured.

Previous Incidents

This isn't the first time syringe attacks targeting women have occurred. Similar cases took place in France in June 2022, leading to the arrest of several suspects for allegedly pricking people with needles in nightclubs or at concerts.

At that time, the French Ministry of the Interior confirmed to Euronews that 80 percent of the targets were young women. French police recorded over 400 such reports, though the motive for the jabs remained unclear.

In Spain, the number of women reporting being pricked with medical needles at nightclubs or parties rose to 60 in 2022, according to the country's interior minister. Similar incidents also occurred in the UK in 2021, prompting the British Parliament to publish a report on spiking cases in April 2022.