Coronavirus: Police in France, Spain break-up huge New Year's Eve parties that lasted into Saturday

French police on Saturday shut down a huge party in northwestern France that had been underway since New Year's Eve in defiance of a curfew and coronavirus restrictions on large gatherings.

About 2,500 people attended the rave party in an unused warehouse in Lieuron, near Rennes, and some clashed with police on Saturday, police said.
One eyewitness captured images of the party at around 4 a.m. Saturday and said there were about 400 people there before the party ended.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Twitter that party-goers were issued with fines as they left the site and organizers were being identified and would be prosecuted.

In Spain on Saturday, Catalan police broke-up on an illegal rave party in the northwestern part of the country that had been underway since New Year's Eve and was a violation of COVID-19 restrictions.

About 200 people attended the New Year's Eve rave in the village of Llinars del Valles near Barcelona and dozens continued to party on Saturday - some refusing to leave and shouting abuse when police arrived at the scene.

Two of the event's organizers were arrested and five will be investigated, Catalan's Mossos d'Esquadra police force said on Twitter, adding that the two and those who attended the party would be charged and faced fines of between 3,000 and 600,000 euros.
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