PARIS – Champagne, foie gras and a “truffle glazed potato soup” were on the menu during one of the many secret elite dinner parties held across Paris, in violation of nationwide coronavirus restrictions, according to a French television report.
The report, which relies on the hidden camera footage and was broadcast over the weekend by the M6 channel, showed mask-free meals in places such as a private mansion and a luxury restaurant. One organizer for the dinner initially said that several French ministers had attended the illegal parties before returning to his statement.
The report caused outrage in France, with thousands of people demanding explanations on social networks, and political leaders calling for strict enforcement of lock-in rules. In response, the prosecutor’s office in Paris said on Monday that it would investigate illegal meals.
The news comes amid a deep sense of fatigue and frustration over a seemingly endless cycle of coronavirus restrictions in France, which has just entered a third national exclusion to combat a third wave of infections.
According to the station’s report, staff in an unidentified luxury restaurant offered evening menus ranging from 160 to 490 euros, or about $ 190- $ 580. The meals are only served by customers recommended by an anonymous third party.
“We’re not wearing a mask here,” a waiter with a white glove said at a dinner, actually a secret journalist. “Once you get through the doors, Covid no longer exists.”
Elsewhere, elegant guests are seen without masks during a dinner party held in a lavish private mansion. The owner of the mansion hears: “This week I ate at two or three restaurants, so-called clandestine restaurants, with a certain number of pastors.”
The owner of the mansion was not identified in the report. But Pierre-Jean Chalançon, a well-known businessman and collector, admitted in an interview Monday that a party had been arranged in his mansion, although only nine people had been invited.
The remarks he made about ministers attending the meals, he said in a statement, were an attempt at humor.
No clear evidence emerged that any minister attended an illegal gathering. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Monday that, to his knowledge, no government official had taken part.
That report nevertheless offset anger on Monday. Hashtags like #OnVeutLesNoms, or #WeWantTheNames, reflected widespread anger over the idea that elites violated the rules others had to follow. The issue continued to appear on Twitter on Tuesday, with a new hashtag: #OnVeutLesDemissions, or #WeWantResignations.
This is not the first time that some French restaurants have been secretly reopened during the pandemic, in defiance of government rules. Cafes and restaurants had to be forced to close last year and have not reopened since the second national exclusion last autumn, which has angered many restaurant owners – and meals.
When France entered its third national exclusion on Saturday, with schools and non-important businesses closed for a month, there was deep dissatisfaction in the country. A poll released on Thursday showed a majority of French people were skeptical about the effectiveness of the new closure, with almost half saying they intended to oppose the measures.
The Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that more than 7,000 restaurants had been inspected by police since last October, resulting in fines for 300 owners and 1,000 customers.
But although the illegal reopening of small restaurants was often seen as harmless resistance in the land of gastronomy, the illegal dinner struck another chord and opened a window to the entrenched and club-like nature of the French elite.
Officials who challenge the restrictions they impose on others are a problem for many governments. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson came under intense pressure after it was found that a close adviser, Dominic Cummings, had violated the lock-in rules by traveling the country.
Last month, French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot attended a closed-door opera performance and posed for photos with unmasked artists just before testing positive for the coronavirus.
Several French ministers denied on television and radio programs that they were involved in the secret dinners. Darmanin said on Sunday that they should be prosecuted.
“There are no two kinds of citizens, with those who have the right to party and those who do not,” he said.