Senior French Official Allegedly Drugged 248 Women During Job Interviews
Women who were allegedly drugged by a senior French government official so they would urinate during job interviews have broken their silence, describing profound humiliation and lasting trauma. Christian Nègre, a former senior civil servant and human resources director at France's culture ministry, is under formal investigation over claims he spiked the drinks of 248 women with a powerful diuretic between 2009 and 2018.
A Calculated Scheme of Humiliation
The official allegedly laced their coffees and teas before taking them on so-called 'walking interviews', fully aware the drug would leave them suddenly and desperately needing the toilet. Nicknamed 'the photographer' at the culture ministry, he secretly snapped pictures of the women, meticulously noting every detail of the encounters and recording them on an Excel spreadsheet chillingly titled 'experiments'.
Many women reported severe physical and emotional distress, including:
- Trembling and dizziness
- Overwhelming humiliation
- Being forced to urinate in public
- Wetting their clothes in desperate situations
Nègre, who is in his 60s, was only caught when a colleague witnessed him photographing a female official's legs in their office in 2018. Police subsequently uncovered extensive files on the women and charged him with administering harmful substances without consent.
Victims Speak Out as Judicial Delays Mount
An investigation was opened in 2019, but six years on, it has been beset by significant judicial delays. No trial date has been set, and Nègre remains free. Prosecutors have now told his alleged victims they have only one month to submit their testimonies before the inquiry is closed.
Seven women have now courageously spoken out, detailing the horror they suffered. One woman described being left in tears from 'excruciating pain' during a 2016 walk to discuss career possibilities over coffee. She told how Nègre looked her directly in the eyes as she was forced to urinate into a river, with the civil servant covering her with a jacket. She spiralled into a deep depression after being a victim of what she called his sadistic power play.
'It was a double shock,' she said. 'First, you think it’s your fault. Then you discover you were poisoned.'
Chilling Records and Institutional Failures
Another alleged victim described 'realizing something was wrong' after being given a drink before a walk through the Tuileries Gardens towards the Louvre in Paris in 2011. 'I realised something was wrong when he suggested I relieve myself under a bridge,' she said. 'I thought: if I go in there, he might attack me.' She refused but later urinated on herself rushing to a cafe toilet.
Eight years later, police contacted her, revealing that Nègre had recorded in his spreadsheet how she 'still had to hold on', how she 'moaned', 'disappeared for 15 minutes' and replied 'coldly' when asked about it. He had logged the time he administered the drug, when she requested a break, and when she finally urinated.
A third woman, contacted via LinkedIn in 2015 when she was a student, drank tea in a ministry meeting room before a walk where she relieved herself near the Seine. She reflected on the nature of such predators: 'We still think that rape, rapists and paedophiles are actually exceptions, they’re monsters… No, they are integrated people who have children, who are married, who work, and they are at all social levels.'
Continued Freedom and Secondary Victimisation
Nègre has not publicly apologised and has downplayed the number of victims and his actions. Despite being removed from the civil service in 2019, he has continued working in the private sector while the case drags on. He used a fake surname, Genre, to teach at a business school in Caen before being discovered by students and sacked.
One victim, secretly photographed twelve times, revealed that warnings about Nègre were an open secret; women were advised to wear trousers, not skirts, and avoid one-on-one meetings with him.
In 2023, the French state was ordered to pay up to £14,000 to seven alleged victims in a civil case, though the culture ministry was found not to be at fault as an employer. Another victim reported that a female police officer dismissed her claim because Nègre was too 'high up'.
Another woman spoke of feeling like she was 'going to die', her body feeling like it would 'explode' before urinating next to a bridge. Nègre's notes coldly observed her 'stream was powerful' and her 'knickers were black'.
Louise Beriot, a lawyer for several of the women, stated: 'Under the pretext of a sexual fantasy, this is about power and domination over women’s bodies… through humiliation and control.' Lawyers argue the six-year delay in bringing the case to trial amounts to secondary victimisation, compounding the trauma for all involved.
