Curfew-busting New Year party-goers attack French police

PARIS (AP) — Ravers at an underground, curfew-busting New Year’s Eve party that drew at least 2,500 people in western France attacked the police sent to shut them down, torching one of their vehicles and injuring officers with volleys of bottles and stones, officials said Friday.

Ravers aboard hundreds of vehicles started converging on hangars in Lieuron, Brittany, on Thursday night to party into the New Year, the regional government said Friday in a statement.

Police and their vehicles were attacked when they tried to stop the ravers from installing their party gear, it said.

Some officers suffered light injuries, the statement said. On Friday morning, 2,500 ravers from France and abroad were still partying, circled by a reinforced police presence, it said. First aid workers were distributing masks and hand gels to try to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Prosecutors are looking at an array of possible criminal charges. The party also took place despite France's 8 p.m.-to-6 a.m. nationwide curfew aimed at dissuading public gatherings during the pandemic.

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