Steve Price: Alleged gang rape of Australian rattles Paris days before 2024 Olympics opening ceremony

The alleged gang rape of an Australian woman in Paris just days before the Olympic Opening Ceremonies has put the city – and visiting athletic teams – on edge ahead of the global sporting event.

The 25-year-old raised the alarm in the early hours of Saturday, France’s Le Parisien newspaper reported, adding that the “disoriented” woman entered a local restaurant on the famed Boulevard de Clichy in the Pigalle neighbourhood, wearing her dress backward.

The Paris prosecutor’s office told the newspaper that a “gang rape” was likely carried out between Friday and Saturday and that officials are investigating.

Australian athletes in Paris had been made aware of the alleged attack, Strath Gordon, chief of public affairs and communication for Australia’s Olympic team, said in an email Tuesday.

“They are advised not to wear team kit when in public places,” Gordon said, though he noted the athletes had not received any threats since landing in France and were “getting on with their preparations for the Games”.

Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, promised last year that the French capital would be “the safest place in the world” when the Olympic Games begin this summer.

However, hosting an event as big as the Olympics has triggered mounting security concerns in France, where officials have grappled with how to balance public – and athletes’ – safety with an event they want to be open to all.

During the games, security officials will be juggling myriad threats including terrorist attacks, cyberattacks, crowd crushes and the impact of potential labor strikes.

In June, the reported rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a suburb of Paris triggered protests and sparked condemnations from politicians who linked the incident to rampant antisemitism in France.

Paris aims to be the first fully gender-equal Games and the first to drastically reduce carbon emissions, and will feature the first Opening Ceremonies not held in a stadium.

Officials have promised that Friday’s Opening Ceremonies will be “the largest in Games history”, kicking off with a parade of athletes along the Seine – which was declared clean by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo last week after months of delays and contamination reports.

About 15,000 soldiers and 35,000 police officers are being deployed as part of Olympic security plans. Up to 22,000 private contractors are expected to work in and around stadiums and sports facilities, the Washington Post reported in March.

On Sunday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Israeli athletes at the Paris Olympics will be provided with 24-hour protection. The security announcement came after a far-left French lawmaker said Israel’s delegation was not welcome and called for protests against the athletes participating, Reuters reported.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Come to the Olympics in the moment with Steves Wether's
money mate, how are you yes?

Speaker 2 (00:04):
And the only time the traffic ever worked in Sydney
was back in two thousand during the Olympic Games. Has
never been any good ever since?

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Well, exactly nuclear power by ten years. Where are we
at with that debate, because the original debate was you
could never do it as far too expensive as that changed.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Depends on newspaper you read today. Interestingly, the left leaning
nine papers like the Sidney Morning Herald and The Aide
say that it's all two hards never going to work.
But the news limited tabloids of which I write a
column wake weekly, I have exactly the opposite story from
exactly the same report. Funny that they say a number

(00:39):
of events nuclear reactive prototypes could be operational in the
first half of the twenty thirties. This is a report
from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. These
are these things called SMRs, which are a small nuclear
modular reactors capable of delivering significant numbers of next to

(01:00):
kind reactors has a ten year challenge, this report says.
So one paper says it's not going to happen. The
other says it will. Now this is going to be
a major political debate during the election campaign whenever that
might be. Because Chris Bowen, the current Minister in charge
of Energy, says can't work, too expensive, never happen and

(01:21):
has completely ruled it out. Local government across Australia is
anti nuclear and all state governments have legislation in place
that says you can't build nuclear reactors. So Peter Dutton's
going to seize upon this. You'll see him out there
today talking about it enthusiastically. And so it's a very
odd argument where one report says it can't happen, one

(01:42):
says ken.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
So we'll wait and see how much fizz is there
for the Olympics in Australia.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah, a lot, because we're good. It's as simple as that.
Once the Olympics begin, Australians get very excited because, particularly
in swimming the first week of the games, there is
a really great appetite for it because we'll win gold
medals and there's no doubt about that. We're pretty good
in a couple of other sports than Matilda's obviously are

(02:10):
pretty good in the soccer, and so there's a chance
that we might pick up medals there as well. So
once it begins, I don't think anyone's going to not
too many people are going to get up, but I
think our time it's going to be three point thirty
in the morning on Saturday to watch the opening ceremony
float down the scene. But other than that, once the
swimming begins, their time difference aside, there'll be huge enthusiasm

(02:32):
for it. I think.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
Okay, what about these reports that the Australian athletes said
you don't wear uniforms when you go out your Channel
nine crew were attacked over Niser A bit of angst around.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
That, Yeah, there is, I mean this allegation of a
woman who'd been gang raped by five men. Obviously she's Australian,
Obviously that is going to cause great concerns. And two
two GB radio where I used to it technicians from
the nine team, they've got two hundred people over there.
Can you believe it have been attacked in of a

(03:00):
serious physical nature? Is the way it's been reported. Channa
Night's director of Sport Local Brent Williams, told staff that
two team members left the International Broadcast Center walking to
accommodation in the northeastern suburb of La Bourgier. Now you
just described Paris as before I came on, and I
agree completely with your description. But we wouldn't normally go.

(03:22):
I wouldn't have thought to the northeastern suburbs of Paris,
presumably because they're for our radio techs and you've got
some wonderful ones working there with you. I sent out
some cheapy accommodation autmost in the boonies, and so that
they have been attacked overnight. So Adamy is champion cyclist
chef the mission for the Australian team has told the

(03:44):
team that if you go outside, please, whatever you do,
don't wear your Olympic colors.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
Yeah, it's unfortunate. Brittany Higgins. I just can't work out
this goes back to Luhmann and the case and the
lawyer's fees and stuff he's broke there after him for millions,
will be for the rest of his Life's now got
to sell her house. Did she not think that was
always in some way shape of all going to happen
before she moved to France.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
Clearly not two point four million dollar payout from the
Australian taxpayer Britney Higgins after the alleged rape of her,
which is now, according to a federal court judgement, proven
to have occurred. So she and David she As the boyfriend,
take off. They buy this quite nice little chateau house
in France, in some remote village. They've only been there

(04:27):
eighteen months, maybe not even that, maybe twelve months. Linda Reynolds,
the minister, is sooning both of them for defamation. He's
folded and says he can't afford to fight it, so
he's going to have to pay Reynolds costs. She if
she loses it would have to pay court costs. They now,
so I have up to a million dollars so the
house would be worth maybe that, maybe a little less.

(04:48):
It's now on the market. They're back, going to have
to go back to Perth and fight this case, and
Reynolds if she wins, they'll have to pay her costs
as well.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
I continue to be grouped, fascinated, whatever word you want
to use by this c f ME EU thing. Darren
Greenfield as the new South Wales Secretary. They talk about
ghosting and paying for people who never turned up for
jobs and Sebus, which is a massive superannuation company is
now involved in all of this. And it's when I
look at Darren Greenfield, he looks like a thug? Does

(05:20):
he look like a thug? Because the chances are he
might well be one? Or am I just sort of
looking at things that don't you know what I mean?
They all look like thugs.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
I'll let you describe him as that, even though we're
on New Zealand Radio. I'm not really going to want
to sell my house to pay mister Greenfield's legal fees
any subsequent court case. But yes, you look at the
CFMAU members and they give you the appearance of being big,
strong fellows who could potentially be puggished. There's no doubt

(05:48):
about band. This is going to go on and on
and on, and of course the federal and state governments
are not doing anything to stop that. They were pointed administrators. Now,
when you describe mister Greenfield in as a physical person,
do you think an administrator is going to scare mister
Greenfield out of anything? Hall No, of course not. So
it's all going to end up where the union will

(06:11):
quietly slip away for a few months, maybe a year
or so, and they'll be found and so.

Speaker 1 (06:16):
When all this ghostings going on, you're paying for people
who never turn up for the work. Daniel Andrews, when
it was initially brought to his attention, said it was isolated.
I mean, is he like I mean, what's he doing?
Is he thick or just duplicitor.

Speaker 2 (06:29):
I'm waiting for your description again. He's retired on a
pension and doesn't give us stuff.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
That's bottom Ye really unreal, all right mate, go well,
see you in court. Steve Price out of Australias Mondays Wednesdays.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
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