French cops are disciplined for breaking Covid rules by dancing the Macarena inside police station
- Nearly 30 French police officers were filmed at a colleague’s leaving party
- They were filmed dancing closely together and singing without masks at the police station in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers
- The violations come as French police are currently enforcing a 12-hour curfew
Nearly 30 French police officers are facing disciplinary action for holding a party inside a police station where they were filmed dancing the Macarena, in a clear violation of multiple coronavirus protection rules.
A video from the event posted by online media Loopsider shows several people dancing closely together without masks in a crowded room.
The footage appears to show officers singing in close proximity together while enjoying drinks at the leaving party for a colleague in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers.
It prompted criticism at a time when French police are out every night enforcing a 6pm – 6am virus curfew, and are under scrutiny for abuses during violent protests and identity checks.
En plein couvre-feu, ce commissariat a tenu un pot de départ, sans masque, sans distanciation sociale, alors que ces rassemblements sont interdits.
Bienvenue au commissariat d’Aubervilliers en Seine-Saint-Denis. pic.twitter.com/ToApjj2on9— Loopsider (@Loopsidernews) January 27, 2021
Nearly 30 French police officers are facing disciplinary action for holding a party inside a police station where they were filmed dancing the Macarena, in a clear violation of multiple coronavirus protection rules.
The footage appears to show officers singing in close proximity together while enjoying drinks at the leaving party for a colleague in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers
Those involved in the party – at least two dozen police officials – were ordered to file reports on their actions and that ‘sanctions are planned’, a police spokesperson said. He would not detail the planned punishments.
Parties and other ‘convivial gatherings’ are banned in all police facilities, while masks and social distancing are required and the number of people allowed in any room is limited to keep the virus at bay.
Loopsider said the leaving party had taken place on January 22; the video had blurred the faces of those involved but it showed the group were singing and dancing without masks.
Parties and other ‘convivial gatherings’ are banned in all police facilities, while masks and social distancing are required and the number of people allowed in any room is limited to keep the virus at bay. Pictured: Drinks and snacks laid out at a table in the police station
‘A departure drink was organized at the Aubervilliers police station while a curfew is in force and without any respect for social distancing measures,’ a statement from the Prefecture de Police said.
‘An administrative investigation is being carried out and administrative sanctions will be taken against the participants.
The mayor of Aubervilliers, Karine Franclet, told France Bleu radio she was angered at the news.
‘From a health point of view it’s irresponsible, she said. We’re battling to have a vaccination centre, to give children school meals, while respecting all the health rules so they can continue despite the virus, while things like this happen. How is that possible?’
The party prompted criticism at a time when French police are out every night enforcing a 6pm – 6am virus curfew, and are under scrutiny for abuses during violent protests and identity checks. Pictured: Police checkpoint at the Champs Elysees in the centre of Paris on January 16
France announced a 6pm coronavirus curfew in 15 regions at the beginning of this month amid growing fears of a resurgence of coronavirus in the country.
Those caught on the streets after 9pm and before 6am will be subject to fines equivalent to £122 (€135), rising to £1353 (€1500) for repeat offenders.
The measure had been urged by mayors increasingly concerned that their local health systems are being overburdened by an influx of new cases.
Coronavirus has killed more than 74,000 people across France, which has the seventh highest death toll globally, and ministers fear more fatalities at the hands of the highly transmissible variant detected in Britain.
Yesterday, the country reported its biggest one-day jump in cases since mid-November, with nearly 27,000 infections being recorded.