French victims call for investigation

French prosecutors are being urged to launch an investigation into allegations of rape and assault by Mohammed Al Fayed at the Ritz in Paris, and into the “cult-like” hotel management that enabled his attacks.

The BBC understands that more than five women have made new claims about Al Fayed’s predatory behavior in France since the BBC first reported the rape allegations in a documentary last week.

A lawyer representing Kristina Svensson, who spoke out in the documentary about the abuse she suffered at the Ritz, said she plans to ask the Paris prosecutor’s office to launch an investigation early next week.

The Ritz did not comment on calls for an investigation.

Ms Svensson, who was executive assistant at the Ritz between 1998 and 2000, said: “We are so furious that nothing will stop us.”

In the documentary Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods, the BBC revealed multiple rape allegations against the late billionaire owner of London’s most famous department store, along with evidence that the company not only failed to intervene but also helped cover up the alleged abuse . .

Ms Svensson said Al Fayed cultivated an atmosphere “very much like that of a cult, that of a gang, of a mafia” in all its establishments, including the Ritz.

“There was a vow of omerta,” she said, referring to the mafia’s code of silence.

She said she believed “at least 50” people who had worked with her at the Paris Ritz between 1998 and 2000 were aware of Al Fayed’s behavior.

“People need to take their side and decide if they are somehow guilty and chose to remain silent. They need to understand that the legal teams we have will leave no stone unturned. I have meticulous evidence, and I know others do too,” she said.

Ms Svesson said: “I think a full investigation is needed. Specific people… made this culture possible.”

Anne-Claire Le Jeune, a lawyer who has worked on many sexual abuse cases, including the Jeffrey Epstein case, said that if many women are involved, the accuser “has a moral obligation to open an investigation to trying to find out exactly how this abuse could have happened.”

Ms Le Jeune said another woman had contacted her directly in recent days about abuse by Al Fayed. French prosecutors are not obliged to open an investigation, but both Ms Le Jeune and Ms Svensson hope the increased media attention in France can encourage other women to come forward.

It is not known whether any complaints about Al Fayed were made to French authorities during his lifetime.

“I think there are many managers who no longer work there and would be willing to talk to the police about what happened,” Ms Svensson told the BBC.

Ms Lejeune said: “A lot of people could have known what happened (at the Ritz). Some of them couldn’t speak out and I can understand that. But others may have tried to help Al Fayed commit his crimes. That is why it is very important to identify them.”

The Ritz hotel, which is still owned by the Al Fayed family, has issued only one brief statement since the BBC documentary aired, in which it did not elaborate on specific allegations but said it had “addressed any conduct not is in line with the values ​​of the establishment.”

Located next to the French Ministry of Justice on Place Vendome in the heart of the capital, the hotel remains a landmark in Paris. It is perhaps best known in recent decades as the place where Princess Diana ate her last meal before her death, in a car next to her partner – Dodi Al Fayed, Mohamed’s son – on August 31, 1997.

Ms Svensson said her decision to speak out had brought her “much joy”, adding that many of Al Fayed’s victims were now in their 50s and “are at a point in life where we can have the courage collect” and “don’t I don’t want our daughters and grandchildren to be abused in a similar way.