A video captured by an undercover reporter of an opulent secret party in Paris has sparked public anger and a police inquiry. People attending the party were in violation of local COVID-19 rules and at one point a man is seen yelling that COVID didn't exist at the party.
The private party offered patrons high-priced menu items such as foie gras and expensive Champagne. The footage was taken by an M6 TV journalist who posed as a guest. The party was held inside a nondescript building and was an invite-only affair.
Paris chief prosecutor Rémy Heitz has ordered judicial police to investigate the illegal parties. He said the aim was to determine if the organizers and participants are violating local social distancing rules.
According to the journalist that took the video, guests of the parties paid nearly $190 to get in. Depending on the "party" menu of choice, some guests paid as high as $580 per person.
At one point in the video, a man was seen assuring guests that government ministers were patrons of the parties and that there was no need to worry.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has asked police to verify the authenticity of the gatherings. He said police had been instructed to "prosecute the organizers and participants of these clandestine dinners."
After the video was aired earlier in the week, the hashtag "restaurantsclandestins" was trending on social media. Online users said authorities had been imposing lockdown measures on "ordinary people" only while turning their backs on such lavish parties.
They said a raid at a local beach found families not wearing. One group was fined hundreds of dollars for drinking wine - a violation of pandemic rules that prohibited the consumption of alcohol in public.
Major French cities have continued to be under strict curfew since January. Residents have been prohibited from leaving their homes or traveling between 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. unless they were performing essential tasks. France has the fourth-highest number of positive COVID-19 cases globally - with around 4.9 million positive cases recorded.
