Hiyam Zarouri felt hopeful when a senior civil servant at France’s prestigious culture ministry contacted her on LinkedIn to offer career advice. The then 25-year-old, unemployed, left the meeting instead in pain and humiliation.
Zarouri claims Christian Negre, a former human resources manager, slipped a powerful diuretic into her coffee, forcing her to urinate, before taking her on a three-and-a-half-hour walk in central Paris in high heels.
“I started to have cold sweats, chills and hot flashes, a bloated stomach, and my feet really, really hurt,” Zarouri, now 35, told AFP. “I thought I was going to die.”
She is one of about 200 women accusing Negre of drugging their drinks to belittle them.
Victims allege he watched them writhe in pain, sometimes forcing them to relieve themselves in front of him.
Unlike others, Zarouri was able to insist on returning to the ministry to use the toilet.
Later, she blamed herself for drinking the coffee and wearing heels, only realising the abuse years later when similar cases were reported in the media.
Negre was charged with administering a harmful substance without consent, sexual assault by abusing authority, and invasion of privacy.
Investigators say that between 2009 and 2018, he targeted 197 female job-seekers, meticulously documenting their names and reactions in a spreadsheet.
Many victims, including Zarouri, are frustrated by the slow progress of the investigation and worry that Negre, who remains under judicial control but can still work, could harm others.
“It’s unacceptable,” Zarouri said. “He needs to be kept away from other women.”
Negre admitted to investigators in 2018 that he had imposed humiliating situations on women during interviews.
He was fired by the ministry in 2019, and later reportedly worked under a pseudonym as a teacher in Normandy. His lawyer declined to comment.
Experts note that the case highlights the use of drugs in sexual abuse.
The Women’s Foundation, which represents 45 of the accusers, likens it to high-profile cases of systematic abuse, emphasising that the women’s dignity was reduced to lines on a spreadsheet.
The investigation continues, slowed by the number of victims and administrative workload.
Investigators plan to meet all complainants early next year.
While a criminal trial could take years to organise, one woman was awarded Sh1.8 million (€12,000) in damages by an administrative court in 2023 after being forced to urinate in public during an incident in 2012.