The French women allegedly drugged at job interviews

When Sylvie Delezenne, a marketing expert from Lille, was jobhunting in 2015, she was delighted to be contacted on LinkedIn by a human resources manager at the French culture ministry, inviting her to Paris for an interview.

- Angelique Chrisafis

"It was my dream to work at the culture ministry," she said.

But instead of finding a job, Delezenne, 45, is now one of more than 240 women at the centre of a criminal investigation into the alleged drugging of women without their knowledge in a place they never expected to be targeted: a job interview.

An investigating judge is examining allegations that, over a nine-year period, dozens of women interviewed for jobs by a senior civil servant, Christian Nègre, were offered coffees or teas by him that had been mixed with a powerful and illegal diuretic, which he knew would make them need to urinate.

Nègre often suggested continuing the interviews outside, on lengthy strolls far from toilets, the women say. Many of the women recall struggling with the need to go to the toilet and feeling increasingly ill. Some, in desperation, say they urinated in public, or didn't reach a bathroom in time, wetting their clothes. Some felt a sense of shame and failure that has had an impact on their lives, they say.

"At the time, I didn't even know this type of attack existed," Delezenne said.

The alleged assaults came to light in 2018, after a colleague reported Nègre allegedly attempting to photograph the legs of a senior official, prompting police to open an investigation.

Officers found a computer spreadsheet titled "Experiments", where he had allegedly noted the times of druggings and the women's reactions.

In 2019, removed from the ministry and the civil service, Nègre was placed under formal investigation on several charges ranging from drugging to sexual assault. His lawyer, Vanessa Stein, said he would not comment while the investigation continues.

Awaiting trial, Nègre has been able to continue working in the private sector.