If, on December 24, 2020, no travel certificate or curfew had been put in place, New Year's Eve will be totally different. The government intends to put in place restriction instructions across the country.
Prime Minister Jean Castex believes New Year's Eve would bring together "all the ingredients for an epidemic rebound." A series of measures will therefore be put in place by the government to ensure compliance with the restrictions on the night of December 31, 2020 to January 1, 2021. We explain what will be implemented during this evening where no deviation should be tolerated by the police.
A curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The authorities will be intransigent on this. From 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., no one should be in the streets without a valid reason. As a reminder, here they are:
- travel for health reasons
- displacement for compelling family reasons
- travel within the framework of a mission of general interest
- business trips
- walk your pet.
For this, it will still be necessary to have a derogatory exit certificate. If you do not have a certificate with one of these reasons, you are liable to a fine of 135 euros and 1,500 euros in the event of a repeat offense.
Zero tolerance on underground parties
In a telegram dated December 28, 2020, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin sent further instructions to the prefects concerning this New Year's Eve under curfew. Increased surveillance of clandestine parties is planned. This includes the mobilization of 100,000 police and gendarmes during the evening of December 31, 2020, like last year. City centers as well as "sensitive areas" will be monitored and the underground parties, if any, will be interrupted. In case of intervention, the participants will be fined, but the objective will be to identify above all the organizers.
To see also: A third confinement? Olivier Véran ready to take "the necessary measures"
Ban on the sale of alcohol to take away
The government also asked the prefectures to ban the sale of take-out alcohol on the evening of December 31, 2020, but also fuel. Several prefects have already implemented this restriction. Prefect Pascal Mailhos, in the Rhône, for example, published a decree on Tuesday, December 29, 2020 banning the sale of take-out alcohol as well as firecrackers and fireworks on public roads. This will take effect on December 31, not to mention that the consumption of alcohol on the public highway has been banned.
A closure of transport during the curfew is envisaged
According to the telegram from the Ministry of the Interior, the closure of public transport in its entirety or at least part of it is desired from 8 p.m. on Thursday, December 31, 2020. Again, this will depend on the decisions of the prefects. It was also recommended not to communicate on the number of cars set on fire on New Year's Eve.