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In the small town of Llinars del Vallès, hundreds of people gathered for a rave party, ignoring the night curfew due to the corona pandemic. The videos published by the Spanish media show the participants dancing, apparently day and night, in a warehouse, under a huge skull with a Santa hat.
As reported this Saturday by the newspaper “La Vanguardia”, the police dissolved the celebration with a massive effort. However, the police took their time: apparently they only intervened 36 hours after the first calls from concerned residents and cut the power on Saturday at noon.
According to the newspaper, residents of the town reported that sometimes up to 1,000 people attended the party in the town about 40 kilometers northwest of the tourist metropolis of Barcelona, crowded and without masks. In front of the industrial building in an abandoned port district, there were around 200 vehicles with foreign license plates, for example from France and Belgium, including many mobile homes and trucks.
Ravers walked away from the police
Local residents said the party was supposed to last until January 4. According to “La Vanguardia”, the police asked people several times to evacuate the area. The regional government announced an investigation into why the response came so late. In addition, it will be determined who organized the party.
The organizers face fines of up to 600,000 euros. The Mossos d’Esquadra, a Catalan riot police, arrested three suspects for resisting state authority and violating the health law. They also searched for drugs and tested drivers for alcohol.
The rave had apparently started on New Year’s Eve, the police estimated the number of participants according to a report in the newspaper »El País« at 300 to 400. To make it more difficult for the police, stones were placed at the entrance of the site, which were finally cleared with a bulldozer.
The police decided not to intervene immediately. “On New Year’s Eve there were 3,000 police officers who took care of the security of 7.5 million residents,” said Police Chief Pere Ferrer, defending himself against criticism from neighbors, mayors and local politicians in the region for the “incomprehensible delays.” In the “very complex” situation, they wanted to avoid “hasty action”. When the start of the operation became clear, many ravers had already left the party and, according to “El País”, they moved away along rural roads to evade police controls.
French forces also ended an illegal New Year’s Eve rave in Brittany on Saturday. Around 2,500 people had gathered in a disused hangar in Lieuron. When the police wanted to end the party, they are said to have been violently attacked and initially evicted. The last party goers did not leave the venue until Saturday morning. French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced harsh sentences.
