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Also in France, police cracked down on a large rave party in the new year, and authorities fear that large rallies will lead to a further spread of the infection.
The illegal party in Catalonia began on the last night of last year in the town of Llinars del Valles, about 30 miles northeast of the northern Spanish city.
The party was held in direct violation of infection control measures introduced in the fight against the coronavirus.
– We will prosecute the organizers and all the participants of the match, the autonomous police of Catalonia reports on Twitter.
Basketak
The police suggest that the fines for participating in such events start at 3,000 euros, more than 31,000 crowns.
Hundreds of policemen entered the warehouse building as a police helicopter flew overhead. A large group of spectators gathered nearby, reports the Spanish radio station RNE.
Images taken just before the party stopped show a large group dancing near a skull wearing a Santa hat, all without a bandage, according to the AFP news agency.
When the police arrived, a brief basket case broke out.
It can cost 6 million
Three people accused of organizing the party have been arrested and must appear in court. According to the police, they risk being fined up to NOK 6 million.
It is unclear how many more were arrested. When asked why they did not stop the party earlier, the police replied that it was a complicated operation in which the safety of both the police and the party participants had to be taken into account.
Eyewitnesses tell La Vanguardia newspaper that a maximum of 1,000 people attended and that the organizers hoped to keep the party going until Monday.
Thousands of French raves
Also in northwestern France, police stopped a rave party on Saturday. Up to 2,500 people had gathered there on New Year’s Eve to celebrate at a former air base near Rennes.
The last dance of the lions left the stage in Brittany on Saturday, a day and a half after the event began.
Police for the first time took action against the illegal party the night before New Year’s Day. They were greeted by angry partiers who threw rocks and bottles and set fire to a police car.
The police surrendered and instead erected barriers around the party area in Lieuron Township.
Foreign participants
By Saturday morning, the situation was finally under control. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin tweeted that a large police force had made it possible to end the event without violence.
About a thousand people have been fined for violating the crown’s rules and several suspected organizers have been arrested. Several of the party’s participants came from the UK and Spain, police told the BBC.
On New Year’s Eve, more than 100,000 police officers were deployed to France to stop the illegal parties and enforce the curfew.
Curfew extended
On Saturday, an extended curfew was introduced in 15 of France’s 101 ministries, most of them in the east of the country. The nightly curfew now begins at 6 p.m., compared to 8 p.m. in the rest of the country.
Spain and France are among the most affected crown countries in Europe. Spain has detected more than 1.9 million cases of infection and almost 51,000 deaths, 109 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
France has registered 2.6 million cases of infection and almost 65,000 deaths, 99 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
