Nearly 400 people took part in a free-party on Saturday evening near Dijon. (Illustration) – GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP
Around 8 p.m. this Saturday, authorities got wind of a free-party in a disused hangar in the small town of Couchey, about ten kilometers southwest of Dijon. The gendarmes intervened during the night and stopped the illegal party to which nearly 400 people had come to participate. The alleged organizer was arrested, we learned Sunday from the prefecture.
“I strongly condemn this event which is completely irresponsible in the context of the country’s health situation. The time has not come to let our guard down, ”declared the prefect of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, Fabien Sudry, confirming information from France Burgundy Blue.
140 gendarmes, 10 police officers, a helicopter
For this intervention, an important device was deployed as soon as the authorities got wind of the party. “Very quickly, a system was put in place with the deployment of 140 gendarmes from the department, Saône-et-Loire and Yonne as well as the support of ten police officers from the Dijon anti-crime brigade”, specified the prefect. A gendarmerie helicopter also made it possible to monitor the surroundings.
This deployment made it possible to prevent additional groups of “100 to 150 young people” from going to the scene, the majority of them having turned back at the sight of the police. Others tried to enter the site before being repelled by “the moderate use of tear gas”, according to the same source.
205 verbalizations for “non-observance of the curfew”
The music was cut during the night around 2 am with the seizure of the sound equipment which was followed by the gradual evacuation of the site. Two people were arrested at the end of the evening, including the alleged organizer. The police also issued 205 tickets for “non-compliance with the curfew”.
“There is no longer anyone on site Sunday at the end of the morning,” said the gendarmerie, a few hours after the departure of the last revelers who had decided to sleep on the site.
More than 1,000 Covid offenses this weekend
This illegal party in Côte-d’Or is in addition to that organized on the night of Friday to Saturday in Haut-Corlay (Côtes-d’Armor), which gathered around 500 people before the intervention of the police. .
More than 1,000 Covid offenses (non-compliance with the curfew and 10 km), 42 offenses related to narcotics and nine for drunk driving were noted, according to a report transmitted Sunday evening by the prefecture. Nearly 240 gendarmes were mobilized all weekend on this land.
Endangering the lives of others, contempt and rebellion
In Paris, on Saturday evening, a rave attempt also failed in the Bercy district, resulting in three arrests, including the alleged organizer for endangering the lives of others, the other two for contempt and rebellion. Thirty-four verbalizations were drawn up.
“They would do better to stay at home, let them be patient a little longer,” said Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti on France Inter on Sunday.