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French Culture Ministry Official Accused of Drugging Job Candidates Faces Renewed Judicial Scrutiny

An investigating judge is reviewing allegations from roughly 250 women who report being given a powerful diuretic during recruitment interviews.

Overview

  • Complainants describe being offered coffee or tea that was secretly laced with a fast-acting illegal diuretic before interviews were shifted outdoors away from toilets.
  • Victims recount urgent distress and public humiliation during walks in locations such as the Tuileries Gardens near the ministry in Paris.
  • Police in 2018 found a spreadsheet titled “Esperimenti” that allegedly logged administration times and reactions, which informed the subsequent case.
  • Christian Nègre was removed from the Culture Ministry and placed under formal judicial investigation in 2019, and no criminal trial has been held to date.
  • Some women obtained civil compensation against the State, the ministry was not found liable, and fresh testimonies have intensified debate on drug-facilitated abuse.