Man accused of drugging almost 250 women in job interviews to make them urinate themselves
Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
A former senior French civil servant is under formal investigation for allegedly drugging women during job interviews and professional meetings, in order to ‘humiliate’ them.
He is accused of secretly giving women diuretic drugs, designed to make them desperately need the toilet and often urinate on themselves.
Christian Nègre is a former senior official at France's Ministry of Culture, and the allegations made against him date from 2009 to 2018.
Advert
According to the allegations, Nègre reportedly offered women coffee or tea during meetings and interviews after adding a diuretic substance to their drinks, in an act of what is being called ‘chemical submission’.
Investigators say his intent was to bring on an urgent need to urinate, and then watch the women's distress or loss of bladder control, with him later documenting their suffering on a spreadsheet.
This was worsened by the fact he often then walked them out in public, far away from a toilet.
French prosecutors said in February 2026 that investigators had identified 248 women in connection with the case.
Some of the women have spoken publicly about the case, describing experiences of sudden and uncontrollable urination, as well as the rising panic.
"I was scared... I didn't know what was happening"
One of the women, Anaïs de Vos, told the BBC about how she went for an interview with him in July 2011: "I was really weak. I couldn't really feel my legs any more, I was scared. I didn't know what was happening."
She told BBC Global Women that Nègre made her the drink but as it 'tasted bad' she only drank 'about half', before he suggested they take the interview outdoors.
de Vos recalled how it wasn't long before she had an intense urge to urinate, but said she felt too embarrassed to tell him so, claiming she was cold instead.
She says he continued to steer her away from any buildings, instead guiding her towards the banks of the River Seine, at which point she told him she urgently needed to go.
He allegedly looked her right in the eye and said "Oh, do you need a wee?", in a way she described as 'weird' and 'almost gleeful', before pointing her to a storage cupboard under a bridge telling her to do it there.
She refused, before heading to the Louvre to try and use the toilets there, but didn't have any money on her.
Eventually, desperate and in pain, she found a café who would let her use it, but it was sadly too late and she lost control and wet herself.
She has expressed her gratitude that Nègre didn't get to witness it.
Eight years later, in 2019, she received a letter from the police, and found that she was one of hundreds of women Nègre is accused of drugging.
"I was shocked," she says. "But I was happy to know I wasn't crazy. Something had happened that day."
"He didn't take his eyes off me"
Another accuser, Marie-Hélène Brice, was interviewed in 2016. She was also named in Nègre's spreadsheet, after he reportedly suggested they go for a walk outside to 'calm her nerves'.
Like de Vos, it wasn't long before Brice was in excruciating pain from the need to urinate, and she says Nègre told her there was a public toilet nearby.
However, when they arrived, there was no toilet to be found.
She said she was really suffering, and was 'white, pale, I had tears streaming down'.
Brice said she couldn't hold on any longer and had to urinate in public, with Nègre shielding her with his jacket.
"I was terribly embarrassed," adding that he horrifyingly stared at her throughout. "He didn't take his eyes off me."
Louise Beriot, a lawyer for several of the women, told Metro: "Under the pretext of a sexual fantasy, this is about power and domination over women’s bodies… through humiliation and control."
Damning photographs and a spreadsheet
Nègre held senior positions within the Culture Ministry, and was supposedly interviewing for roles there.
In June 2018, Nègre was reported to police after he was allegedly caught photographing a woman's legs from underneath a table.
According to the Paris prosecutor's office, investigators examined his computer equipment and discovered a spreadsheet called 'Experiments P' where he documented his interviews with women.
de Vos says she was told the spreadsheet included such details as the time the women arrived for their interviews, when he administered the diuretic, how long it took before they urinated, and even what underwear they were wearing.
Nègre was suspended from his position that same month.
However, it wouldn’t be until October 2019 that he would face official investigation on allegations including administering harmful substances, violence by a person entrusted with a public-service function and violations of privacy.
Prosecutors say he told them he had 'imposed humiliating situations on women'.
He is awaiting trial on charges including drugging, invasion of privacy and sexual assault.
Brice said the delays have caused 'secondary victimisation', adding: "We do not necessarily feel completely taken seriously."
In 2023, a successful civil case ordered the French state to pay up to £14,000 to seven of the alleged victims.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8 pm on Sundays.
Topics: Crime, True Crime, Europe
Jen Thomas