+ A
A -
dpa
Paris
An illegal New Year’s rave in eastern France that lasted more than 24 hours has provoked outrage and resulted in more than 1,000 fines being issued by police over lockdown violations.
About 2,500 people gathered at an unused airbase hangar outside Rennes for the party, having travelled from other parts of France and in some cases from abroad.
Travel is limited within the country and large gatherings are expressly banned as France seeks to limit contacts and stop the spread of Covid-19.
Local police became aware of the illegal gathering late Thursday as the world celebrated New Year’s Eve. However, it was not fully broken up until early Saturday, said a tweet from the national police force.
Police were on the scene for hours, distributing disinfectant and masks. Three officers were reportedly injured during the operation, as some revellers became violent as police tried to stop the party.
However, while police were able to stop new guests from arriving before midnight, quite a few revellers were able to keep partying until Friday night, according to the French news agency AFP.
According to French media, the sound was cut and the equipment dismantled only early on Saturday morning.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 1,200 fines had been issued and initial investigations into the incident were under way.
According to officials in the prefecture of Ille-et-Vilaine, the transgressions included violating curfew and not wearing masks.
France’s coronavirus laws for New Year’s Eve had limited gatherings to six adults and made it illegal to leave the house between 10 pm and 6 am.
The prefecture added that five people had also been arrested.
Several lawmakers expressed outrage over the illegal rave in light of the country’s current battle against the coronavirus, which has claimed about 65,000 lives in the last year in France alone.
Parliamentarian Florian Bachelier said on Twitter that the gathering “shames our country, our health workers, who for months have been on the front line, our dead.” Aurore Berge, another lawmaker, said that it was unacceptable that a handful of people “make us pay for their inconsistency” and called for systematic controls and warnings.
Paris
An illegal New Year’s rave in eastern France that lasted more than 24 hours has provoked outrage and resulted in more than 1,000 fines being issued by police over lockdown violations.
About 2,500 people gathered at an unused airbase hangar outside Rennes for the party, having travelled from other parts of France and in some cases from abroad.
Travel is limited within the country and large gatherings are expressly banned as France seeks to limit contacts and stop the spread of Covid-19.
Local police became aware of the illegal gathering late Thursday as the world celebrated New Year’s Eve. However, it was not fully broken up until early Saturday, said a tweet from the national police force.
Police were on the scene for hours, distributing disinfectant and masks. Three officers were reportedly injured during the operation, as some revellers became violent as police tried to stop the party.
However, while police were able to stop new guests from arriving before midnight, quite a few revellers were able to keep partying until Friday night, according to the French news agency AFP.
According to French media, the sound was cut and the equipment dismantled only early on Saturday morning.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 1,200 fines had been issued and initial investigations into the incident were under way.
According to officials in the prefecture of Ille-et-Vilaine, the transgressions included violating curfew and not wearing masks.
France’s coronavirus laws for New Year’s Eve had limited gatherings to six adults and made it illegal to leave the house between 10 pm and 6 am.
The prefecture added that five people had also been arrested.
Several lawmakers expressed outrage over the illegal rave in light of the country’s current battle against the coronavirus, which has claimed about 65,000 lives in the last year in France alone.
Parliamentarian Florian Bachelier said on Twitter that the gathering “shames our country, our health workers, who for months have been on the front line, our dead.” Aurore Berge, another lawmaker, said that it was unacceptable that a handful of people “make us pay for their inconsistency” and called for systematic controls and warnings.
