
Paris (AFP) – Batons and handcuffs were used to keep two young French girls from being robbed and gang raped by men in a metro station, the French interior ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
A security guard was stabbed to death on the line of duty, the ministry said.
It said the incident occurred when the victims ran to help the wounded guard.
“We condemn these barbarities with absolute force, in the name of security,” said a statement from the interior ministry.
“The people of France and the world demand a swift and full investigation, which must be launched immediately,” it said.
The victims were identified as 18-year-old Maria and 17-year of her younger sister.
The girls were walking to their home in the Paris suburb of Charleroi when they were approached by two men.
The victim managed to fend them off and they ran off in the direction of the Paris metro.
The men were captured by police.
The ministry said it had no details on the motive for the attack.