Paris fights to shut down 'gang-rape' parties as organizers relocate events

Paris is moving to shutter a cycle of underground sex parties described by neighbours and officials as 'gang-rape' events, but organizers have shifted venues around the city as police enforce restrictions. In the 15th arrondissement, groups of men reportedly paid about €80 to have sex with one woman at an underground 'headquarters' beneath luxury apartments. Police had managed to halt these orgies at the former car park, but organizers have since relocated to other sites across Paris as they await a reopening in November. They have repeatedly vowed to continue, albeit with changes. 'This doesn't mean our business is stopping - far from it,' the group said. 'We'll continue to organise and welcome you but differently.'

A programme circulated for an upcoming Friday described a 'consensual and long-considered and thought-out' kidnapping of a woman in the center of Paris, nicknamed 'Little Doll', who would be hooded, handcuffed and undressed before being met by three paying men in a damp Parisian cellar. A dozen male participants would then have sex with her until morning, Le Parisien reported. A separate plan involved another woman meeting four men in a large parking lot, with instructions that she should be quick and discreet. The events are said to be headquartered in Paris' 15th Arrondissement. A woman was also slated to participate in an event at a Parisian cinema, Le Parisien noted.

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Banished from their original venue, organizers have reportedly reinvented meetups in parking lots, cinemas and forests, with plans to reopen publicly in November. In online notices, participants were urged to remember: 'We survived Covid, we will get through this stage too.' Authorities and neighbours have said the events sit at the intersection of moral and criminal matters, accusing the organiser of exploiting administrative loopholes. A mother living above the basement told Le Parisien they had only a few days of respite in December and viewed the events as a degrading practice for women. Neighbours contend the parties contribute to a damaging 'gang rape culture,' a concern amplified by France's #MeToo movement and the recent public trial of Dominique Pelicot in Avignon. Goujon, the mayor, warned that 'even if there is consent, this practice glorifies rape' and added: 'After the Mazan trial, we can’t have any more of this sort of thing.' The Mazan case involved a man who invited dozens of men to his house to rape his wife while she slept.

The Paris organizers insist all is legal and consenting. They say publicity has only boosted interest. By year's end, Telegram subscribers had grown to nearly 2,500, and by September this year the figure had reached 6,000. Events across several locations reportedly number 300 to 400 annually, with individual gatherings hosting from three to 250 participants. In February, the mayor stepped in to halt an expansion after a owner claimed permission to develop the former car park into a 'sex disco' to meet rising demand. For now, organizers continue to stage spectacles for attendees, with private-home events interspersed by ventures into new spaces. Goujon said in late December that authorities would monitor the situation and consider fines where appropriate, even if the activity itself is not illegal. He cautioned that there may be a participant who was coerced in the crowd, and a concerned resident noted that someone caught up in the herd could go too far.

The episode ties into broader debates about consent, exploitation and violence, and it has kept scrutiny on how France handles similar cases amid ongoing public discussions around gender-based violence and the #MeToo movement. Authorities say they will pursue enforcement where possible while continuing to assess the legal framework surrounding these gatherings.