夜間外出禁止令回避　キャンプで噴火見物　仏レユニオン島

【サンドニドラレユニオンＡＦＰ＝時事】インド洋に浮かぶフランス海外領レユニオン島で、新型コロナウイルス対策の夜間外出禁止令を回避してキャンプを張り、噴火見物を楽しんでいる人々がいる。（写真はインド洋のフランス海外領レユニオン島、フルネーズ火山の噴火で噴き出す溶岩）
　同島のフルネーズ火山ではたびたび、壮大な噴火を見ることができる。９日には今年初めての噴火が始まった。
　しかし同島は３月５日以降、午後６時から翌朝５時までの夜間外出禁止令が出されている。そこで住民らは夜の絶景を楽しむために思い切った手段に出た。
　「噴火が最も美しいのは夜だ」と言うアマチュア写真家のマルク・ジャンスさんは、夜間外出禁止令を回避する方法を思い付き、火山の近くにキャンプを張り、数日間そこを「自宅」とした。
　ジャンスさんは「外出はしていないし、眺めは最高だった」と述べ、１０日夜に撮影した噴火の写真をうれしそうに見せた。
　他にも数人が、噴火を見物しようとキャンプを張っている。しかし、レユニオン当局は、夜間外出禁止令をすり抜けてキャンプを張る人々を阻止するために動き出した。
　レユニオン県のジャック・ビラン知事は、「ウイルスの拡散につながる密集を避けるため」、１３日夜から全島でキャンプを全面禁止すると発表した。警察関係者によると、治安部隊が違反者の取り締まりを強化する用意をしている。
　別のキャンパー、ジャンフランソワ・ローレさんは、それでも何人かの友人はキャンプを続けることを決めたと語った。「理由はよく分かる。夜の噴火は魅力的だから」
　「それにキャンパーを見つけようと思ったら、警察はかなりの距離を歩かなければならないだろう」と、ローレさんはいたずらっぽく語った。
　キャンプを張っているのは熱狂的な人々だけだが、噴火を一目見ようと車で現地に行き夜間外出禁止令が始まる前に帰る住民は大勢いる。
　妻と２人の子どもを連れて車で火山に来たパスカル・ローレさんは、「大勢が火山を目指し、大渋滞が発生している」と語った。火山へのルート上では、何十人ものドライバーが無断駐車で罰金を科せられている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/04/14-13:14）

France's Reunion island is regularly treated to spectacular eruptions of the Piton de la Fournaise volcano -- but with a Covid-19 curfew in place, some residents resorted to drastic measures this week to enjoy the stunning night-time views.
The Indian Ocean island has been under a 6.00 pm-5.00 am curfew since March 5 in a bid to tame coronavirus infections.
That presented a problem for amateur photographer Marc Gence when the first eruption of the year began on Friday night -- since, he pointed out, night-time is when the spectacle is at its most beautiful.
With night-time travel banned, Gence saw only one solution: pitching a tent not far from the volcano and making it his home for a couple of nights.
I didn't travel, and the views were magical, he said, happily showing off snaps of the eruption he took on Saturday night.
Several other spectators have also been camping out to view the volcano, whose name means Furnace Peak in English.
But island authorities have now moved to stop people from taking up temporary residence in the area to beat the curfew.
Prefect Jacques Billant announced that all camping would be banned across the whole island from Tuesday night, to avoid groups spreading the virus.
- Long walk for police -
This little ruse wasn't ill-intended, and frankly, there is little risk of spreading the virus by bivouacking at a volcano, grumbled Jean-Francois Lauret, another camper.
He and Gence decided to pack up their tents on Tuesday morning.
As if there weren't enough things banned already, complained Gence, they're even taking away the pleasure of admiring our volcano.
A police source said security forces were preparing to tighten checks on illicit camping.
Nonetheless, Lauret said some of his friends had decided to stay on.
I can understand why. The view of the eruption at night is captivating, he said.
Plus, he added mischievously, the police would have to walk quite a long way if they wanted to find them.
The Piton de la Fournaise, situated in an uninhabited area in the southeast of the island, has erupted around 20 times over the last decade, and its violent bursts of activity often prompt stunning lava flows.
While only the most zealous have been camping out, thousands of residents have headed to the area by car and leaving before the curfew each night, hoping to catch a glimpse of the eruption.
A huge number of people have gone up there, there've been monster traffic jams, said Pascal Lauret, who drove to the volcano with his wife and their two children.
Dozens of drivers have been fined for parking badly along the route.
I got a fine, and I didn't even see anything, said Marie-Jose Legros.
Up until Sunday night, spectators had to walk for an hour and a half to reach a decent viewing point, but since Monday the eruption has been visible from the road.
We saw a little red dot, which is better than nothing, said Michel Morel.
He is planning to return next weekend, hoping the volcano will still be belching out its lava.