French-Algerian influencer Soraya Riffy was the victim of a violent home invasion at her apartment in Marseille on the evening of Friday, July 4, 2025.
The 30-year-old nurse and social media personality, who has nearly one million followers on Instagram, endured a horrifying ordeal after returning home from a day out with friends.
At approximately 9 p.m., a man approached her door pretending to be a neighbour who had misplaced his keys. Once the door was opened, he violently punched Riffy in the nose, allowing two armed accomplices to enter the apartment.
The attackers bound her with tape, gagged her, and subjected her to a brutal assault lasting over an hour.
“I was tied up for 45 minutes. I thought they were going to kill me,” Riffy said in a video recorded from an ambulance. She described how the restraints cut off circulation to her limbs, causing them to turn blue. During the attack, the perpetrators demanded €50,000.
When Riffy offered her car and wallet instead, she was sprayed with bleach and other chemicals—substances her lawyer believes were intended to destroy forensic evidence.
Riffy also suspects she may have been sexually assaulted during the ordeal, having lost consciousness multiple times and waking to find unexplained injuries on her body. A forensic examination has been scheduled to determine whether rape occurred.
The assailants fled the scene with luxury items, including a Rolex watch, a Cartier bracelet, counterfeit designer handbags, as well as her car and keys.
“They knew very well who she was,” said her lawyer, Tom Michel. “Like many influencers, Soraya Riffy displays a lifestyle on social media that can seem quite luxurious.”
Riffy was able to free herself and alert emergency services.
She was transported to hospital with multiple facial fractures, lacerations, and a concussion.
This is not the first time she has been targeted; three months earlier, she suffered a broken nose in a separate assault during a parking dispute with a neighbour.
Her lawyer confirmed that she had repeatedly reported threats to authorities.
Riffy rose to public attention in 2016 after appearing on the French television programme Touche pas à mon poste, during which a controversial incident involving a non-consensual act led to a formal sanction against the broadcaster.
A complaint has been filed for aggravated violence, kidnapping, and rape.
The investigation has been handed over to the judicial police in Marseille, who have begun taking witness statements from Riffy in hospital.
Tom Michel, who represents several public figures, warned that influencers are increasingly becoming targets.
“After becoming stars, they become targets,” he said.
“We think they have a luxurious lifestyle. But with such violence, this is the first time.”
The case has reignited debates around the safety of online influencers and the growing risks of visibility on social media platforms.
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