French police eventually stopped an illegal rave near the city of Rennes, which had attracted more than 2,500 celebrants from around the country.
The party has been raging in a warehouse since Thursday in spite of the country’s strict demands to contain the coronavirus, Reuters reported.
The first attempts to clean up the revelers on Friday had been met with violence, with the rebellious youth hurling stones and bottles at the police. At least one police car was set on fire.
The situation had gotten so out of hand that French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin called a nightly crisis meeting on Friday to assess the situation, the BBC said.
The party – which was expected to continue until at least Tuesday – was only finally broken up after the arrival of police reinforcements.
More than 1,200 people received official citations as they left the venue, and police plan to prosecute the organizers of the event. Lighting and music equipment were also seized on the spot.
France has the highest coronavirus rates in Western Europe with more than 64,000 virus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.