New Year’s Eve: France to mobilise 100,000 police officers to stop parties amid Covid spike

France is among the five most Covid-19 affected countries

Similar to many European countries, France is going to witness muted New Year celebrations (AP)

France is mobilising around 100,000 police and paramilitary personnel to halt parties, in a bid to control the spread of Covid-19 and stop people from torching cars, an act that has become an usual affair during New Year’s eve.  

France’s interior minister Gerald Darmanin has written to the country’s regional leaders about the mobilisation. He has given orders to ensure a proper presence of law enforcement officials in main areas of the cities during the curfew.

The police will be patrolling the streets and will be asked to break-up underground new year parties and fine the people involved.  

Mr Darmanin has sought a wider public transport shutdown across France while in Paris many metro lines will be closed for the evening, BBC news reported.  

The police will also be carrying out identity checks and identify vehicles for "dangerous elements." The idea behind heavy police presence is also to control the torching of cars which has become a regular affair on the New Year’s eve as last year more than 1,450 cars were burnt across France.  

To control the burning of cars, the interior minister has also asked shops to control the sale of flammable liquids.

According to the World Health Organisation, France is among the five most affected nations due to coronavirus. Since the start of the pandemic, it has recorded over 2.5 million Covid-19 cases including over 63,700 deaths.

In October and November, France witnessed a huge spike in Covid-19 cases including its all-time record 86,794 cases in one day on 8 November. It has also recorded a case of the UK coronavirus strain which is 70 per cent more transmissible.  

The government, however, has ruled out any new local lockdown for now even as France has already had two national lockdowns. In January 2021, the restaurants, bars, and cultural attractions will remain shut.  

Similar to France, many other nations across Europe are going to witness tight security to control the spread of Covid-19. For instance, France’s neighbouring countries, Germany and The Netherlands are under a lockdown till 10 January and 19 January respectively.  

The UK has announced that about 20 million more people will be put under stricter restrictions from 31 December.