Two Brazilian tourists were subjected to sexual assault and rape near Paris’ iconic Eiffel Tower early Monday morning. Police are searching for suspects.
The two women, both sisters from Brazil, were sightseeing on Sunday and met with two young men who took them to the Champ-de-Mars, the large park by the famous Eiffel Tower and one of Paris’ most well-known tourist attractions.
At around 5:30 am, the eldest of the sisters claims one of the men touched her buttocks and she fled, looking to find her sister who had separated from her. The elder sister found her sibling on the ground with the other young man on top of her raping her, broadcaster BFMTV reports.
The alleged rapist then fled the area and the two tourists, who speak very little French, attempted to explain their situation to Paris police. The Paris prosecutor’s office announced that an investigation into the rape attack has been opened but so far no arrests have been made.
Rachida Dati, mayor of the 7th arrondissement (district) where the Eiffel Tower is located, commented on the case saying, “The rape of a woman at the foot of the Eiffel Tower highlights once again the dangerousness of the site of the Champ-de-Mars.”
Dati has argued that the Champ-de-Mars should be secured with a fence and closed at night with dedicated municipal police on the site, however, the Paris government has shown little interest in the proposal.
Issues with personal safety, particularly for women, have been an issue in Paris for years. In 2017, a mobile phone app was launched that attempted to warn people if they were in a “no-go area” or were at risk of sexual assault.
Just a year later in 2018, another app was developed in partnership with the Paris public metro company RATP to allow travellers to match up with others in order to chaperone each other and avoid being at risk of becoming targeted by criminals.