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Australian woman 'raped by five men in Paris' just days before start of Olympics, as police hunt attackers
23 July 2024, 15:46
An Australian woman has claimed that she was raped by a group of five men in Paris, with police now hunting for the attackers.
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The rape took place in the early hours of Saturday morning near the Montmartre area in the north of the French capital.
The 25-year-old woman, who does not speak French, then sought refuge in a nearby kebab shop.
Staff at the fast food restaurant called the police, and the woman was taken to hospital.
The Australian foreign ministry said it was "making urgent enquiries with French authorities following reports of an Australian citizen assaulted in Paris."
They added: "The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade stands ready to provide consular assistance."
Read more: Police must be ready for attempts to highjack Paris Olympics
The woman, who has not been named publicly, was planning to return to Australia, but has now decided to remain in Paris for the time being to help police with their investigation.
Harrowing footage from the kebab shop shows the woman arriving wearing an inside-out dress.
She claims that a man who walks into the shop after her is one of her attackers.
The man then pats her on the shoulder, before he is chased out by a diner in the shop.
It comes after a British woman was raped in Paris last month, during an annual music festival. There have been no arrests in that case.
Paris is under heightened scrutiny because Paris is hosting the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games, which begin at the end of this week.
Over 15 million people are expected to come to the French capital from late July to early September, when the Paralympics end.