French police have launched an investigation into alleged underground fine dining clubs in Paris that the country’s politicians were accused of participating in, the BBC reported.
A private TV channel called M6 released the undercover recording of an unnamed private dining club in Paris where guests could remove their masks while ordering haute cuisine dishes that ranged from about $190 to $580 per person, the BBC reported Monday.
Caviar, champagne, menus de grands chefs et retrait du masque obligatoire…Nos journalistes ont pu pénétrer dans ces fêtes clandestines de haut standing qui se tiennent actuellement à Paris.
????@frvignolle Armelle Mehani et @CyrielleStadler en exclusivité pour le ????#19h45 pic.twitter.com/ClXpIWrVwZ— M6info (@m6info) April 2, 2021
Guests at one dinner party reportedly paid $260 per person and flouted all social-distancing rules by gathering close to each other and greeting one another with kisses on the cheek, according to the BBC.
One person in the video is heard saying that multiple politicians were involved in the revelry, according to the BBC.
“This week I dined at two or three restaurants – so-called clandestine restaurants — with some ministers.”
After the video was released, French officials threatened to crackdown on any breach of COVID-19 guidelines, and announced an investigation would probe the allegations about the secret parties.
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said “all ministers, without exception, are respecting the rules and no-one among them thinks they have some sort of special pass,” the BBC reported.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that if the investigation verifies the accuracy of the report about the parties, then the organizers and participants would be prosecuted.
A la suite du reportage de M6, j’ai demandé au Préfet de police de Paris de vérifier l’exactitude des faits rapportés afin, s’ils sont vérifiés, de poursuivre les organisateurs et les participants de ces dîners clandestins.
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) April 4, 2021
Multiple American politicians have been caught flouting their own COVID-19 restrictions, among them is Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom. In November, Newsom was pictured dining at The French Laundry, a luxury restaurant in California, while indoor dining was not permitted in the state. (RELATED: Here Are The Lawmakers Who Refused To Stay Home After Telling You To)