Road checks, during the evenings on the eve of December 31 and for New Year’s Eve, were rigorous during the two nights as soon as the 8 p.m. curfew was instituted.
Initially static until 10 p.m. at the roundabout of Europe in both directions, the gendarmes then operated mobile checks at various points of the 116 and in town until late at night. While other military teams carried out the same operations in Mont-Louis and Font-Romeu.
Captain Thill, second in command of the Prades gendarmerie company, present on the ground with about twenty soldiers, including members of the Nîmes platoon who had come as reinforcements, noted: “The respect of the curfew is our watchword, the traffic is fortunately calm and respected. But there are always a few individuals on the margins circulating without valid reason and without justification. On December 30, out of 57 vehicles, we checked 77 identities and fined 12 offending drivers “.
New Year’s Eve
From 8 p.m., the same curfew compliance checks were in place with about fifty soldiers in the Marquixanes crossing in static. Then, the gendarmerie personnel moved for dynamic checks until 3 am, the relay being provided by the surveillance and intervention platoon of the gendarmerie (Psig) of Vinça. Here too, Captain Thill makes the following observation: “A relatively large flow in the early evening with motorists going to Cerdanya, sometimes for the sole reason of joining their second home or even a seasonal rental. Then, a clear lull the rest of the night. On 60 vehicles stopped and 80 people checked, we drew up 33 reports including one for blood alcohol level. The patrol on Bourg-Madame has ended the drawing of a fireworks display“.
In conclusion of these curfew checks, the officer noted overall compliance with the instructions widely advertised in the media and informed that his unit, which covers a large area of Ille-sur-Têt in Pas de la Casa , would be present these Saturday January 2 and Sunday January 3 on the border axis and the roads of Cerdagne “for possible returns of skiers who will be asked for a negative biological test, the non-presentation of which would result in a request for isolation for 7 days“.
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