French authorities on Wednesday charged and jailed a suspected organizer of an illegal New Year rave that saw 2,400 people defy COVID-19 regulations, in a ruling criticized by his supporters as an injustice.
The wildcat rave party over the New Year in the Brittany region of northwest France shocked the nation as people continued to observe strict bans on gatherings to battle the pandemic.
The man, 22 and homeless, was arrested on Saturday in the van where he was living west of Rennes and then charged late on Tuesday with organizing an illegal event and putting the lives of others in danger, prosecutor Philippe Astruc said.
He was also remanded in custody, given the risk of communicating with other organizers of the event, Astruc said.
The man’s lawyer, Remi Cassette, said his client denied being one of the organizers, while acknowledging that he had taken part in the event and “given a hand” with the organization.
Astruc said that the man was not the only suspected organizer and at least three or four more remained at large.
The images of the rave shocked the nation, both due to the flagrant breach of regulations on gatherings and social distancing, but also because of the failure of the local police force to prevent it from taking place.
Astruc said that about 800 vehicles had taken participants to the event, with admission charged at 5 euros (US$6.15), and some coming from as far as Italy, Spain and Poland.
“All these elements point to a significant logistical organization and coordination,” he said.
However, a statement by a support committee, set up to back those who took part in the rave, called for the man to be freed and called for a rally in Rennes tomorrow to support him.
“It doesn’t matter if this person is really connected with the organizing, what we know is that it is inconceivable for someone to go to prison for letting women and men dance,” the committee said.
A group of people claiming to be the organizers of the event — who were not named — wrote an opinion piece published on Tuesday in the Liberation daily saying that they were “proud” to have allowed people to see in the New Year in happiness.
The people said that they had responded “to the call of those who are not satisfied with an existence punctuated only by work, consumption and screens, alone at home in the evening.”
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