This video of the Parisian elite unleashes outrage 0:46
(CNN) -
An undercover report showing a video of Paris's elite enjoying secret dinners at upscale restaurants and ignoring covid-19 restrictions has sparked fury in France, and the city's prosecutor's office has launched an investigation.
This investigation comes as a result of a television report broadcast on Friday by channel M6.
The secretly recorded video showed hidden camera footage of two upscale restaurants full of maskless diners.
In the secret video, an undercover journalist walks into a private restaurant with the blinds closed and is greeted by a waiter in white gloves.
They ask who has invited her and they say: "Once you walk through the door, there is no more COVID-19."
The waiter is heard explaining that the dinner menu in Paris starts at € 160 (US $ 190) per person.
For € 490 euros (US $ 580), diners can sip champagne while feasting on truffle foie gras and prawns in ginger sauce.
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"We are investigating the possibility of filing charges for endangering and undeclared work," a spokesman for the Paris prosecutor's office told CNN on Monday.
"We will verify if the meetings that were organized violate sanitary regulations and we will determine who were the possible organizers and participants."
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Restaurants in France have been closed since late last year as the country battles a third wave of coronavirus infections.
A new "limited shutdown" came into effect last week, as President Emmanuel Macron warned that the country is at risk of "losing control" of the pandemic.
They identify one of the restaurants of the dinners in Paris
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The video also shows another dinner held in luxurious surroundings with large tapestries and gilded paintings.
Guests are seen "la bise", kissing cheek to cheek.
The organizer seems to affirm: "This week I have dined in two or three restaurants, called clandestine, with a certain number of ministers."
Due to its recognizable decor, the restaurant was later identified as Palais Vivienne, owned by Pierre-Jean Chalençon.
Chalençon's lawyer issued a statement Sunday in which he acknowledged that the distorted voice in the video belonged to his client, but was joking when he said that government ministers had attended the dinners.
'We want the names'
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The scandal has provoked the ire of many on the Internet, with the hashtag #OnVeutLesNoms (We want the names) that was a trend on Twitter this Monday.
Government spokesman Gabriel Attal told the LCI news channel on Sunday that authorities have been investigating allegations of illegal parties for months and that 200 suspects have been identified so far.
"They will face severe punishment," added Attal.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that restaurants have been closed in France since last month. They have been closed since last year. This has been corrected.
Covid-19eliteEmmanuel MacronParis