Police put an end to an illegal party on Saturday that had brought together hundreds of people since the day before to celebrate the New Year in a former factory in the center of the Netherlands, according to local media.
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Ten police vans entered the site in Rijswijk and several hundred officers were mobilized to convince people to leave, according to Dutch public television NOS. The police made several arrests, although the intervention took place without violence, according to local media Omroep Gelderland.
“The measures apply to everyone!”
The party started on Friday evening in a shed of an old brickyard. Local residents said they had identified many vehicles registered in France, but also in Germany, Spain and Italy.
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“It’s an illegal party, so it’s forbidden. Moreover, it is not appropriate during the coronavirus crisis. The measures apply to everyone!»Said on Twitter Josan Meijers, the mayor of Buren, of which Rijswijk is one.
Many fireworks
Health restrictions are strict in the Netherlands, where a new “containment” was imposed on the population a week before Christmas in the face of a new wave of Covid-19 and the spread of the Omicron variant. All non-essential shops, restaurants, bars, cinemas, museums and theaters are closed until January 14 and schools until at least January 9. Outside, only gatherings of two people are allowed, with exceptions such as funerals. But no restriction on movement has been decided.
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Many fireworks were fired on New Year’s Eve, as tradition dictates, despite the ban for the second consecutive year of fireworks to avoid overloading hospitals overwhelmed by the epidemic.