1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning

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The 1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning, known in French as Le Pain Maudit, took place on 15 August 1951, in the small town of Pont-Saint-Esprit in Southern France. More than 250 people were involved, including 50 people interned in asylums, and there were seven deaths. A foodborne illness was suspected; among these it was originally believed to be a case of "cursed bread" (pain maudit). A majority of academic sources accept naturally occurring ergot poisoning as the cause of the epidemic, while a few theorise other causes such as poisoning by mercury, mycotoxins, or nitrogen trichloride.

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