Sexual assault under the Eiffel Tower. The victim was a young policewoman
Dramatic news from Paris. A young policewoman was raped by a 35-year-old man under the Eiffel Tower. As "Le Parisien" reports, the attacker terrorized the woman with a knife. This is not the first such case in this area. The police admit they are dealing with a significant problem in the Fields of Mars.
11:21 AM EDT, October 18, 2023
"Le Parisien" reports, the victim of the assault is a 23-year-old policewoman from the United Kingdom. The woman spent time with a friend on the Mars Field on Monday (October 16th).
At some point, she moved away from her friend, to go to the restroom. After a while, a 35-year-old assailant approached the woman, terrorized her with a knife, and then committed rape.
The perpetrator fled from the scene. The case was reported to the police. The French officers began searching for the man. After about an hour, they were able to catch the suspect based on a description given by the victim.
Another rape under the Eiffel Tower
Unfortunately, there have been more such cases in recent months. In July of this year, a Mexican citizen informed investigators that she had been raped in the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower. The woman testified that she fell victim to five men in the Field of Mars.
The police have detained two men in this case. However, they were both released from jail shortly after. The attack on a 27-year-old Mexican woman caused an uproar. The French reminded of other similar incidents.
A few months earlier, a German citizen had escaped rape, as one of the local vendors scared off the attackers. In February 2023, two sisters from Brazil fell victim to rapists. In September 2022, a student from Canada was raped in the Mars Field.
Problem with the Mars Field
The Field of Mars is a vast park in the center of Paris covering an area of about 60 acres. It once served as a military training field. It is a near-historical site, as it was the location of many events related to, for example, the French Revolution. It was only in 1889, when the famous Eiffel Tower was opened, that the Field of Mars became a city park.
This substantial sized area does not close at night. The police admit that sexual offenders roam around the Mars Field. - It's a place where people sometimes take advantage of women's intoxication to commit sexual offenses or worse - said one of the officers.
Mayor Philippe Goujon of the 15th district of Paris once called the Champ de Mars a "lawless zone" and "throat cutters." The 24-hour accessibility of the park is widely criticized. However, millions of tourists visit Paris every year. Many of them walk around the city in late evening hours.
