Firefighters accused of gang rape in Paris

Police are questioning three Paris firefighters in connection with the alleged rape of a woman at their station.

The firefighters, who were not on duty at the time, allegedly brought “at least” three women, according to reports, back to their Plaisance fire station in the city’s 14th arrondissement at 4am Saturday after an evening drinking.

Afterwards, one of the women, a foreign national, made an official complaint to police.

The Paris prosecutor’s office has confirmed that an official inquiry has been opened for “viol en reunion” (gang rape), but has not released details.

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The firefighters, currently in police custody, will be suspended for the duration of an internal inquiry, Lt Col Gabriel Plus, the Paris fire service spokesman, told Le Parisien newspaper.

“These actions cannot be tolerated. They are against the values upheld by Paris firefighters who must be exemplary, which, obviously and happily, is the case for the immense majority of them. If the suspicions of rape are proven we will show the greatest firmness,” Mr Plus added.

Le Parisien reported that at least three firefighters had been taken into police custody, suspected of having brought the women back to their station after they had spent the evening drinking in a bar, then a nightclub.

Unlike the majority of French firefighters, those in service in Paris are professional and members of the military.

In January, two police officers of an elite Paris crime brigade were jailed for seven years for the rape of a Canadian tourist at their headquarters, 36 Quai des Orfèvres after an alcohol-fuelled evening. Their victim, Emily Spanton, had waived her right to anonymity after the attack in 2014. The two officers, Nicolas Redouane and Antoine Quirin, denied the accusations. – Guardian