The probe comes after a TV report of the M6 channel that was broadcast on Friday, presenting hidden images with the camera of two luxury restaurants full of guests without a mask.
In the video, an undercover journalist enters a private dining club with closed shutters and is greeted by a waiter wearing white gloves. She is asked on whose behalf she was invited and told: “Once you walk through the door, there is no Covid.”
Maitre d ‘is heard explaining that the menu starts at 160 euros (190 USD) per person. For 490 euros ($ 580), guests can enjoy champagne while enjoying foie gras with truffles and prawns in a ginger sauce.
“We are looking for possible allegations of endangerment and undeclared work,” a spokesman for the Paris prosecutor told CNN on Monday. “We will check if the meetings were organized in violation of the sanitary rules and we will establish who the potential organizers and participants were.”
A new “limited blockade” went into effect last week, as President Emmanuel Macron warned that the country was at risk of “losing control” over the pandemic.
The video continues to show another dinner organized in a generous setting, with large tapestries and gilded paintings. Guests are seen kissing each other, kissing each other on the cheek.
The organizer seems to say: “This week we had lunch at two or three restaurants, the so-called clandestine restaurants, with a certain number of ministers.”
Due to its renowned decor, the restaurant was later identified as the Palais Vivienne owned by Pierre-Jean Chalençon.
Chalençon’s lawyer released a statement on Sunday acknowledging that the distorted voice in the video belonged to his client, but that he was joking when he said that government ministers participated in whom.
The scandal has angered many online, with the hashtag #OnVeutLesNoms (We Want The Names) trending on Twitter on Monday.
Government spokesman Gabriel Attal told the LCI news channel on Sunday that authorities had been investigating reports of illegal parts for months and that 200 suspects had been identified so far. “They will face a severe punishment,” Attal added.