Wedding cancelled in France due to rowdy guests on way to ceremony

A mayor in France cancelled a wedding saying the guests were “not respecting the rules of the Republic” as they made their way to the mairie.

He said numerous “excesses” had been committed by the wedding party as they travelled in including alleged reckless driving and blanks being fired from guns.

As the party arrived at the mairie, three of the men were arrested by agents of the anti-criminality force, la brigade anti-criminalité (BAC).

Mayor Thibaud Philipps, of Illkirch-Graffenstaden, near Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin, Grand Est), told media 20 Minutes: “I couldn’t let that go. I believe that if one does not respect the rules of the Republic, one cannot benefit from its institutions.”

Reports of the behaviour began mid-afternoon last Saturday (October 8). Mr Philipps said: “I was alerted by local residents and the national police operations centre that there was a lot of speeding with large vehicles and that the Highway Code was not respected at all.

“In particular, there were suspicions of guns being fired.”

Gunshots were heard in several areas of the commune, until the party stopped in front of the Hôtel de Ville. The mayor was present, even though he was originally not set to be at the union. As a result of the behaviour, he decided that the couple should not be allowed to continue with their ceremony.

He said: “You can celebrate without putting other people’s lives in danger.

"When I arrived, the Brigade Anti-Criminalité was there and proceeded to arrest three men from the vehicle from which the blank shots were fired. The weapon was even found on one of them and according to my information, he was still in custody on Sunday morning.”

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