More than 2,000 attend illegal New Year’s party in France, despite coronavirus restrictions

More than 2,500 partygoers attended an illegal New Year’s rave in the region of Brittany in France, despite the government’s strict coronavirus restrictions and a national night-time curfew.

“In the early evening of December 31, several hundred vehicles began to converge on an industrial area in the town of Lieuron to set up a rave party,” the local authority said Friday.

According to a statement, local police attempted to shut down the rave, but “faced violent hostility.”

“A police vehicle was set on fire, three other vehicles were damaged, and soldiers were sprayed with bottles and stones, causing minor injuries,” the statement added.

Local authorities say the number of partygoers is “estimated at 2,500, coming from different French departments and from abroad.”

The public prosecutor’s office has since opened an investigation into the incident, which will be overseen by the local police department’s search brigade.

A national curfew from 8pm to 6am has been in place since December 15.