A 30-year-old woman reported being raped Sunday night in the restrooms of a restaurant in Paris’s affluent 16th arrondissement. French police quickly arrested a 40-year-old Syrian-born suspect with Brazilian nationality after he fled the scene, according to French news reports citing sources close to the investigation.
The alleged assault occurred around 10:45 p.m, Sept. 13, at a restaurant on Avenue Kléber. Investigators said a man approached the woman inside the establishment, forcibly pulled her into the toilet stall and raped her. He then fled in a black Skoda with two other men, heading toward the Arc de Triomphe.
Officers from an anti-crime unit responded to the restaurant to gather descriptions of the suspect and the vehicle. The victim was taken to a hospital for medical examinations.
A patrol later spotted the car on Avenue des Champs-Élysées near the George V metro station and stopped it around 11:10 p.m. The main suspect was taken into custody.
The two other men in the car, both also born in Syria and aged 41 and 42, were brought to a police station for questioning.
The suspect is a 40-year-old man born in Syria who holds Brazilian nationality, Le Figaro reported, citing a source close to the case. The investigation was assigned to the 1st District of the Judicial Police.
French media described the account as a reported rape under investigation. No charges had been publicly detailed in the days immediately after the arrest, and the restaurant was not named in published reports.
The case drew rapid attention on social media after activist Claire Geronimi posted about it Monday, noting the suspect’s Syrian birthplace and framing the assault as part of a pattern of attacks on women.
“Another woman assaulted. Once again, the same questions that some stubbornly refuse to ask. Full support for this victim. We must be able to live, go out, and return home without fear,” she wrote on X.
Une femme de 30 ans violée dans les toilettes d’un restaurant à Paris.
Le suspect, âgé de 40 ans et né en Syrie, a été interpellé après avoir pris la fuite.
Encore une femme agressée. Encore une fois, les mêmes questions que certains refusent obstinément de poser.
Soutien… pic.twitter.com/XUB2aLETMY
— Claire Geronimi (@ClaireGeronimii) September 14, 2026In a case that garnered national headlines, Geronimi was previously raped by an African suspect in Paris.
