French authorities have issued a red danger warning ahead of the heatwave in the country. There will also be a partial ban on alcohol service in the cities affected, wrote Norway’s state broadcaster NRK this weekend.
In several countries temperatures are pushing up towards 40 degrees, and after a crisis meeting with the French Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, it was decided to issue red and orange danger warnings in large parts of the country.
It affects, among other things, the Fête De La Musique festival, which resembles what we know as Music Day in Oslo, the state broadcaster reports.
The heatwave is the greatest danger
There follows a review of how heatwaves in Europe have increased in number and intensity, and that researchers now state that this is largely due to man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
In this connection NRK has brought in an expert, state meteorologist Bente Marie Wahl, who explains that all climate research shows that global temperatures are rising, heatwaves are becoming more troublesome, and that this gives cause for concern.
The weather was, however, the least of the worries for the festival participants in France. Fête de la Musique developed into a terrifying night marked by violence, with stabbings and rapes, and several women were stabbed with syringes.
More than 240 people were arrested, two people were stabbed and others raped, when France’s largest outdoor music festival developed into intense violence, writes Daily Mail.
The street party is visited annually by thousands of Britons. They were caught up in a terrible night marked by violence, the newspaper writes.
Brits are caught up in terrifying night of violence as French music festival descends into stabbings and rapes with multiple women stabbed with syringes.
This video, which was posted on Daily Mail, has been downloaded via an account on X. See more videos further down in the article.
Vegard got heatstroke
Even though NRK reported on the heatwave ahead of the festival, there were no updates about the extensive violence and chaos.
Instead the state broadcaster wrote an article the same day as Daily Mail about another large festival in the west of the country where the Norwegian male Vegard got heatstroke.
He and his partner were at the heavy metal festival Hellfest, which was held in almost 40 degrees of heat at the weekend.
It seems as if NRK decided to choose another festival to cover, in order to avoid telling the public about the violence at the famous festival they had just covered.
In the article about Vegard and his partner we also get a lesson in the dangers of global warming.
Screenshot (translated from Norwegian): NRK. “France Shuts Off the Beer Taps Because of the Heatwave.”
Imagine the reaction if NRK were to write: «Swipe to read more about how Europe has changed because of mass immigration, and what we can do about it.»
All major media have written about the heatwave in France, and some have also covered the festival, as NRK has done.
But as far as I can see after extensive searches on the internet and on their websites, none have reported on the violence.
The heatwave is intensifying in Europe, writes formerly-conservative newspaper Aftenposten in an NTB (Norwegian News Agency) message. – While some cities cancel Fête de la Musique, it still goes ahead in Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg and other cities, even though a red warning for extreme heat has been issued in a third of the country.
Screenshot Daily Mail. Brits are caught up in terrifying night of violence as French music festival.
Dagbladet also mentions the Fête de la Musique festival, but nothing about the violence and chaos.
Last year, however, some media reported that 145 people were stabbed with syringes during Fête de la Musique.
VG even had a reader poll where they asked if people were worried about safety at festivals. Fifty per cent answered that they were.
How are they supposed to know about the persistent danger when the media choose not to cover it?
A night marked by chaos and violence
Daily Mail writes that a British man and woman, who are not named, were assaulted early Monday morning during Fête de la Musique.
According to police reports there were two rapes, several other sexual assaults, robberies and cases where girls were stabbed with syringes during a night marked by chaos.
This video has been downloaded from «Remix News and Views» on X.
Daily Mail reported the news immediately after the violent night, and we still do not know the real extent of what happened. Most media have put a lid on the incident.
In Toulouse in the southwest a man was stabbed just before midnight, and a woman was stabbed a short time later in Colomiers. Both are in stable condition, according to the newspaper.
In Paris fights broke out in the centre, with smashed car windows and attempted break-ins at shops. Around 148 people were arrested in Paris and 243 in the whole of France, according to the interior ministry.
Video downloaded from Visegrád 24 via X.
More than ten cases were reported where women were attacked with syringes containing unknown substances. A man was also briefly arrested for carrying syringes.
A young woman was stabbed and then raped in a private residence. In Gagny a 48-year-old was arrested for assaulting a 12-year-old girl, and in Nogent-sur-Marne a 15-year-old reported rape after a concert.
Over two million people took part in the festival in Paris. The first disturbances started around 11 p.m. in the Châtelet area, near Notre-Dame, where groups of young men attacked people and created panic.
– The streets became dangerously overcrowded, and troublemakers exploited the situation, said a British witness who asked to be called Steve. Alcohol was officially banned, but many had their own bottles of wine, beer and spirits, and cannabis was smoked openly.
– A group of young men, some of them in Paris Saint-Germain football shirts, started hitting people, which led to chaos. – People screamed, and there was a real fear that the fight would lead to a massive crush as people tried to get away.
On both sides of the Seine the police used tear gas to gain control. Around 5,000 police officers and gendarmes were deployed.
During the PSG celebrations last month two supporters died after drowning in the Seine, and there were extensive riots.
Lamia El Aaraje, deputy mayor of Paris, has previously acknowledged that the festival was marked by «excesses and a lot of sexual violence», and this year special safety zones for women and disabled people were established.
No way back
If the authorities have to establish special safety zones for women and people with disabilities ahead of a music festival, perhaps the summer heat is not the biggest societal problem?
But that is apparently what Norwegian media want you to believe. The greatest danger is man-made global warming, and we will see more stories like the one about Vegard, who got heatstroke.
NRK pointed out that Fête de la Musique is comparable to what we know as Music Day in Oslo. Imagine if such scenarios become common in Norway as well …
Will Norwegian media continue to remain silent, and thereby risk that the public is left with a distorted picture of reality?
Let us hope that day never comes. But that was probably what they said in France as well, which now appears to have reached a point where there is no longer any way back.