The Dutch police have broken up an illegal New Year’s Eve party with hundreds of partiers, which took place despite the nationwide corona lockdown. Hundreds of officers and ten police buses were on duty on New Year’s Eve on the site of a former factory in Rijswijk, central Netherlands, as the public broadcaster NOS reported on Saturday.
The operation was carried out without violence, but there were several arrests, reported the local media group Omroep Gelderland. The rave party had reportedly started on New Year’s Eve in the warehouse of a former brick factory. Residents reported that numerous vehicles with German, French, Spanish and Italian license plates were parked in front of the building.
The mayor of the municipality of Buren, to which Rijswijk belongs, condemned the party on the online service Twitter. “This is an illegal celebration, so it is forbidden,” wrote Josan Meijers. “In addition, it is not appropriate during the Corona crisis. The measures apply to everyone,” he added, referring to the Corona restrictions in the Netherlands.
Due to the increasing number of new corona infections and the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant, a new lockdown was imposed in the Netherlands a week before Christmas. All non-essential shops as well as bars, cinemas, museums and theaters must remain closed until January 14th. In the state’s schools, face-to-face lessons are to take place again on January 10th at the earliest. A maximum of two people are allowed to meet outdoors, exceptions apply to funerals, among other things.
An illegal rave party also took place on New Year’s Eve in the small town of Saint-Florentin in eastern France, around two hours from Paris. The local prefecture reported that police had secured the venue and carried out drug tests on the partiers. The local public prosecutor’s office has initiated an investigation.