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Mass rave in France ends 48 hours later after police failed to stop it 0 2 Share Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Linkedin Pinterest Telegram
Revellers on Saturday left an illegal New Year rave in northwestern France that drew some 2,500 people, led to clashes with police and sparked concerns it could spread the coronavirus.
Police had failed to stop the underground event, set up in two warehouses in Lieuron, south of Rennes in Brittany on Thursday.
Such mass gatherings are strictly prohibited across France to prevent the spread of Covid-19, and a nationwide 8:00 pm curfew — which was not lifted for New Year — applies across the country.
Techno music had blared out during the night from the warehouses, which had been transformed into illegal nightclubs for partygoers who had flocked to the site from across France and even abroad.
The local prefecture said on Saturday the music had been switched off and sound systems dismantled after two nights and the first revellers began leaving the site before dawn.
By 10:15am the site was under the control of police, who had booked more than 800 people for failing to respect the curfew restrictions or wear masks or for “participating in an illegal assembly”, it said in a statement.
Earlier on Saturday, “a few hundred” revellers remained, the prefecture said, quoting an association that oversees the security risks of such events.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted that the large police presence at the site had led to the breakup of the rave “without violence.”
Police on access roads were checking all those leaving the site, on foot or in vehicles, an AFP photographer said.
The officers were in particular on the lookout for narcotics, and were using torches to check the eyes of the ravers for signs of drugs use.
Police reinforcements continued to arrive and close off the site in a calm atmosphere Saturday morning, the photographer said.
About half of the car park at the site was empty Saturday morning.
French authorities have been worried about mass rave parties throughout the pandemic, but New Year’s Eve was a particular concern.
Police had Thursday night tried to “prevent this event but faced fierce hostility from many partygoers” who set one of their cars on fire and threw bottles and stones, the prefecture said on Friday.
Those present had come from across France and even abroad, it said.
First aid workers distributed hand gel and masks to the revellers to try and limit the spread of the virus.
The French government, facing the threat of a new wave of Covid-19 infections, announced on Friday it is bringing forward its night time curfew by two hours in 15 regions to help combat the virus.
The country recorded around 20,000 new cases and 133 deaths on Friday, bringing the total number of fatalities to almost 64,800.
Source: The Local
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