France's interior minister said on Saturday a judicial investigation had been opened to identify and prosecute organizers of an underground New Year's party which drew at least 2,500 people despite a curfew amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Gerald Darmanin tweeted that actions by police around the site at Lieuron, in Brittany, "led to the end of the illegal party without violence" on Saturday morning, some 36 hours after it began.
He said more than 1,200 people were fined for not respecting the curfew, not wearing a mask and illegally taking part in the gathering.
Sound equipment and power generators have been confiscated, he added.
Ravers from France and abroad had converged on a hangar in Lieuron on Thursday night to party into the New Year.
Officials said ravers attacked the police on the first night, torching one police vehicle and injuring officers with volleys of bottles and stones.
The party took place despite France's nationwide night-time curfew aimed at dissuading people from gathering amid the pandemic.
Party-goers, however, appealed for understanding after months of nightlife-destroying lockdowns and curfews designed to limit coronavirus infections.
A volunteer with an aid group that was distributing masks, anti-virus gel and health advice inside the techno party, who gave her name as Ombline, said ravers needed to let loose.
Their group, Techno+, was advising partygoers to self-isolate for a week and then get tested after attending the rave.
France has reported more than 64,000 virus-related deaths.
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