23-year-old British police officer raped at knifepoint near base of Eiffel Tower
- The woman was spending the night at a friend’s house in Paris when she was attacked.
- In July, the mayor of Paris faced pressure to close the park at night after an alleged rape.
A British police officer said she was raped at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on Monday.
The victim, 23, told French police that she was attacked by a man with a knife in the Champ de Mars park shortly before midnight that night.
She said the suspect pulled out a knife as she tried to deflect his advances.
After the man fled, she called the police. An anti-crime team responded to the scene and firefighters treated the victim.
Police arrested a 35-year-old man about an hour after the woman reported the attack and gave a description of the suspect.
A British police officer claims she was raped at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on Monday.
The 23-year-old victim told French police she was attacked by a man with a knife in Champ de Mars park.
The victim was a tourist who was spending the night with a friend in the French capital, according to Le Parisian.
The attacker pounced on the victim, who hid behind a bush to go to the bathroom.
She was separated from her friend for only a few moments when the attacker threatened her with a knife.
Police officers arrested a man and a suspect was detained overnight.
In July, a tourist from Mexico reported that she had been raped in a park near the famous monument.
A 27-year-old woman told authorities that the attack occurred in the early hours of July 27 on the Champ de Mars Park in Paris.
Two of the five men were arrested for their alleged involvement in the rape, but were released shortly after.
The Champ de Mars is a large garden that extends from the Eiffel Tower and is very popular with tourists and locals.
It will be a key site during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, when beach volleyball will be played at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and judo and wrestling will be played at the temporary Champ de Mars Arena at the other end of the park.
Unlike most parks in Paris which close overnight, the Champ de Mars is accessible 24 hours a day.
The reported violation has reignited pressure on Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to close the park at night for safety reasons.
The city’s mayor has faced pressure to close the park at night following an alleged rape there over the summer.
France is in its highest state of alert after a deadly knife attack in northern France last Friday.
Police have been photographed patrolling the area around the Eiffel Tower in recent days following the decision to put the nation on its highest state of alert following a deadly knife attack in northern France on Friday, October 13.
Mohammed, a 20-year-old Chechen refugee, stabbed a French schoolteacher to death and injured two other people in a knife attack at a school in Arras.
France deployed 7,000 additional troops to patrol key areas after the attack.
Earlier today, the Palace of Versailles was evacuated due to a bomb threat.
It is the second time in days that the former French royal residence has been evacuated.
