Giant curfew-busting party in France is over after two nights

More than 1,200 people have been fined for not respecting the curfew, not wearing a mask and illegally taking part in a gathering

More than 1,200 people have been fined for not respecting the curfew, not wearing a mask and illegally taking part in a gathering (AFP via Getty Images)

France's interior minister says a judicial investigation has been opened to identify and prosecute organisers of an underground party that drew at least 2,500 people in western France 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 have been fined for not respecting the curfew, not wearing a mask and illegally taking part in a gathering.

Sound equipment and power generators have been confiscated, he added.

Ravers from France and abroad 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.

(AFP via Getty Images)

The party took place despite France's nationwide night-time curfew aimed at dissuading people from gathering amid the pandemic.

France has reported more than 64,000 virus-related deaths.

AP