A French mayor has defended his town’s attempt on the Smurf world record which took place last week, despite the associated coronavirus risks.
The gathering came just one day before France banned all gatherings of more than 1,000 people in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.
“We must not stop living,” Patrick Leclerc, the mayor of Landerneau, told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday. “It was the chance to say that we are alive.”
Thousands gathered in western France on Saturday to break the world record for the largest ever gathering of Smurfs. Around 3,500 people – in full Smurf costume and blue body paint – came together in the village of Landerneau, dancing in conga lines to disco hits chosen by a Smurf DJ.
In response to a social media backlash, the mayor stated that the participants had violated no ban and described them as being a necessary antidote to an ‘ambient gloom’.
“We got our costumes from all the shops in the area and we figured that a bit of fun would do us all good at the moment,” he added.
Following the gathering, it was officially announced that Landerneau had earned its spot in the Guinness World Records, with an unprecedented 3,549 Smurfs.
The previous record was held by a gathering of 2,762 people in Lauchringen, Germany.
