Four investigations for rape and another for attempted murder were opened on the sidelines of the Bayonne Festival, which ended on Sunday after five days of festivities, the prosecution announced on Tuesday August 1.

The four complaints filed for rapes “which occurred on the public highway or in apartments”, some of which could be “clearly established”, led to the opening of investigations entrusted to the judicial police of Bayonne, declared the deputy prosecutor of Bayonne, Caroline Parizel.

The alleged perpetrators have not yet been identified, said the magistrate during a press conference where the judicial report of the five days of festivities was presented. “We are at the beginning of the investigations, the facts still need to be clarified and may eventually be reclassified as sexual assault as the investigation progresses,” she added.

A violent attack and an unexplained death

An investigation has also been opened for attempted murder after the violent assault of a 46-year-old man by three individuals as he returned to his home in downtown Bayonne on the first evening of the holidays. A call for witnesses to try to find the three men was broadcast the next day. The vital prognosis of the victim, placed in an artificial coma, is still engaged to this day, said the prosecution.

Finally, an investigation into the causes of death should shed light on the death of a 19-year-old young man on the night of Saturday to Sunday, at his home in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, after having spent the evening in Bayonne.

Extensive prevention work

Some 1.3 million “festayres” (“festival-goers”) took part in the 2023 edition of the Bayonne Festival, compared to 1.2 million in 2022, according to the first figures revealed by the town hall. For several years, extensive work to prevent sexual assault has been carried out before and during the Holidays by associations and the municipality, with protocols for the care of victims by bars and associative places, a day reception point and night, marauding the crowd or even an important display in the city.

In 2022, two men aged 25 and 19 were indicted for the rape of a 27-year-old woman during the holidays.