‘I Didn’t Even Know This Existed’: The Shocking Case of the Interview Room Druggings
A senior French civil servant stands accused of a bizarre and humiliating campaign of power and control, allegedly drugging more than 240 women with a powerful diuretic during job interviews over a nine-year period. The case, which is still under investigation six years after it came to light, has left a trail of trauma and raised serious questions about accountability within the French culture ministry.
The alleged perpetrator, Christian Nègre, a former human resources manager at the ministry, is under formal investigation for charges including drugging and sexual assault. His lawyer, Vanessa Stein, has declined to comment while the investigation continues. The victims, many of whom were young professionals pursuing their dream careers, say they were offered coffee or tea during interviews, only to be led on long walks far from toilets after consuming the spiked drinks.
A Pattern of Humiliation and Control
For Sylvie Delezenne, a 45-year-old marketing expert from Lille, what should have been a career opportunity in 2015 turned into a nightmare. After being contacted on LinkedIn, she attended an interview at the culture ministry's prestigious building near the Louvre. Out of politeness, she accepted a coffee. "In an interview situation, I’d never say no," she recalled.
Nègre then suggested continuing their conversation outside on a lengthy walk through the Tuileries gardens. "I felt an increasing need to urinate," Delezenne said. "My hands were trembling, my heart was palpitating, beads of sweat ran down my forehead." Despite her pleas for a break, he allegedly kept walking. In desperation, she was forced to urinate in public, an experience that left her feeling she had "wrecked my interview" and triggered years of self-blame and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Another victim, Anaïs de Vos, was 28 when she applied for a job in 2011. She also felt compelled to accept a coffee prepared by Nègre. During a walk along the Seine, her need for a toilet became overwhelming. She alleges he pointed to a storage unit under a bridge and asked, "Do you need a wee?" in a condescending tone. She eventually wet her clothes in a cafe, feeling ill and faint on her journey home.
A Systemic Failure and a Long Wait for Justice
The alleged assaults only came to light in 2018 after a colleague reported Nègre for allegedly attempting to photograph a senior official's legs. A police investigation uncovered a computer spreadsheet titled "Experiments", where he had allegedly logged the times of the druggings and the women's reactions, alongside photographs of their legs.
Louise Beriot, a lawyer representing several of the women, stated, "Under the pretext of a sexual fantasy, this is about power and domination over women’s bodies … through humiliation and control." The case is the latest in France to spotlight drug-facilitated abuse, known as "chemical submission".
However, the slow pace of justice is causing further anguish. A woman using the pseudonym Émilie said, "Six years later, we’re still waiting for a trial, which is mind-blowing. The justice process is bringing more trauma than healing." Lawyer Beriot describes this delay as a form of "secondary victimisation".
The CGT culture trade union has criticised the ministry, stating, "We want the ministry to recognise its responsibility as an employer – there is a systemic problem, which enabled a senior civil servant to act like this for a decade." While some women have won compensation in a civil case against the state, the culture ministry itself was not found directly at fault.
For Sylvie Delezenne, who now works in marketing in Lille, the focus is on prevention. "My priority is that this never happens to anyone else again," she said, a sentiment echoed by the hundreds of women whose trust and careers were shattered in a most unexpected place: the job interview.
