Australian woman allegedly gangraped in Paris just days before Olympics set to kick off

In a shocking incident just days before the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, a 25-year-old Australian woman was allegedly gangraped by five men in Paris last weekend, according to the police.

The authorities have said the incident took place on July 20 after midnight. A CCTV footage has surfaced which shows the harrowed woman visibly disoriented and asking for help at a kebab shop located on Boulevard de Clichy in Paris’ 18th arrondissement, close to Moulin Rouge at about 5 am.

The incident came to light just two days before the Olympics are set to begin in the French capital on July 26.

The French Police are investigating the crime based on the victim's complaint. She told the police the five men were of African appearance and gangraped in the wee hours of July 20 before she escaped and sought refuge at the kebab shop, media reported.

“The investigation into the charge of gangrape likely to have been committed on the intervening night of July 19 to 20 has been entrusted to the second judicial police district,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Some reports claim the woman’s phone was stolen, and she was seen carrying her underwear in her hand.

The woman, who was supposed to travel back to Australia, will now stay back in Paris and help police in the probe.

The Australian Embassy in Paris is “making urgent inquiries with French authorities following reports of an Australian citizen assaulted in Paris," a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade stands ready to provide consular assistance,” the statement said.

The CCTV footage shows the woman running into the shop, and asking a staff for help. However, minutes later, a man enters the shop and pats the woman on the back before placing an order for food. Reportedly, her dress was partially torn off, and she was wearing it inside out.

A staff member of the diner tries to take hold of the man before he is seen leaving the kebab shop.

The shop owner and staff members called emergency responders after which two officers arrived and spoke to the Australian woman before she was taken to a hospital.

According to reports, the woman was unable to speak French while narrating the incident to the police. She was unable to give details on the exact place or circumstances surrounding the attack, it said.

The incident took place in the northern Pigalle district, where the woman was seen wandering the streets in a state of some confusion and distress, the media reports have said.

The Paris Prosecutor's Office said the police were probing the allegations made by the woman and that CCTV footage was being looked at, the BBC reported. However, no arrests have been made so far.