Man slapped with fine for breaking French Covid curfew to ‘smash guy’s face in’

FRANCE-VIRUS-HEALTH
A woman, wearing a protective mask, talks with members of the national gendarmerie at the entrance of an outdoor market on the first day of a new national lock
AFP via Getty Images
John Dunne @jhdunne23 November 2020

French police have slapped a man with a fine after he left home in breach of Covid laws with a written declaration that he needed to “smash a guy’s face in”.

The man, 39, filled in the official document required to leave home, known as “attestation”, with his name and address.

Lockdown  rules in  France make allowances for going to work, shopping for food, exercising, going to the doctor or other activities deemed essential.

However the man, who has not been named, wrote  his reason for going out of his Brittany home was  ‘aller péter la gueule à un mec’ - translated as “smash a guy’s face in”.

Police tracked him down and he was hit with a 285 euro (£253) fine.

Local police chief Daniel Kerdraon said his officers had discovered the suspect hiding behind a car late on Friday evening.

He told local French media: “When asked what he was doing he explained that he was waiting for someone to ‘smash their face in’ … he had the written form with his real name and the time he had left home – 10.15pm – but we told him his reason for going out was not valid. He was trying to fulfil the letter of the law, in his own way."

As well as the €135 (£120) fine for having an insufficient excuse for being out in public, the man was also fined €150 for being drunk in a public place. He could face further fines after he is questioned about carrying the flick-knife he was found with.

Anyone leaving their home for any reason during France’s lockdown must carry a permission form issued by the interior ministry. These declarations require the person’s name, address, date and place of birth and must be signed, dated and precisely timed.

During the earlier lockdown, one man told officers: “I’m fed up with my wife, I must absolutely go and see my mistress,” while another couple said they were out to pick daffodils before the flowers all died. 

In another breach a young man was stopped on his scooter told police he was making an urgent medical delivery of blood. 

Inside a top box with the words 'urgent blood" written on it police found cannabis, cocaine and €800 (£709) in cash.

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