A looming sense of unease spread across Europe during the weekend as once-bustling cities were placed on lockdown, officials worried about shortages of face masks, and the number of people infected with the novel coronavirus grew to over 7,000, reports The Washington Post.
But a small town in northwestern France was not about to call off the world’s largest gathering of Smurfs.
“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.”
Despite the fears of contagion, more than 3,500 people in blue body paint crowded together in a parking lot Saturday, dancing in conga lines to disco hits chosen by a Smurf DJ. “There’s no risk, we’re Smurfs,” one fan of the Belgian cartoon told AFP. “Yes, we’re going to Smurferize the coronavirus.”
The village of Landerneau, which is home to a little more than 15,000 people and best known for its historic architecture, hoped to earn a spot in Guinness World Records. In February 2019, 2,762 people had painted themselves blue and gathered at a regional carnival in Lauchringen, Germany, taking home the world title for “Most people dressed as Smurfs.” Organizers of Landerneau’s annual Festival of the Starry Moon were determined to top them in 2020.
As the date of the world record attempt grew closer, though, the spread of covid-19 threatened to throw a wrench in their plans. By Saturday, nearly 1,000 people in France had been infected with the coronavirus, and 16 had died. Though the rate of infection wasn’t nearly as bad as in neighboring Italy, French President Emmanuel Macron begged citizens to limit their contact with the elderly, and some schools in northern France closed.
But even as shoppers across Europe battled over dwindling supplies of masks and hand sanitizer, stores in Landerneau were selling out of Smurf costumes. When reporters with France’s TF1 showed up Saturday, they found everyone from hairdressers to butchers to cashiers going about their daily routines while dressed in the signature style of Papa Smurf. Restaurants were crowded with diners in white beards and Phrygian hats, and bright blue Smurfs had been painted on businesses around town.
See more of this report, with video, from The Washington Post.