For most in Switzerland, carnival season is a chance to let your hair down and party into the early hours with loud music, costumes and more. Luckily, the police in St. Gallen saw the funny side of events in Wil, after revellers tried to fill one of their cars with confetti.
According to 20 Minuten, our story starts on carnival Sunday in Wil, in the middle of one of the largest Fasnacht celebrations in Canton St. Gallen. Clearly, partygoers and costumed participants at the event were feeling the invincibility of good cheer - and perhaps the effects of a few beers - as they were pictured using an industrial blower to shoot a large amount of carnival confetti into a police car.
The police returned to their unlocked car to find the floor, seats and centre console covered in multi-coloured paper. On any other day, this would likely lead to the perpetrators receiving a fine - with freundlichen Grüssen, of course. Luckily, the Cantonal Police of St. Gallen saw the funny side of the incident, posting this video to TikTok:
In the caption to the video, the authorities said that while they were not fans of people filling their cars full of confetti during “urgent missions”, they were happy to not pursue a fine in this case. They said that they were returning some of the offending confetti, so that the perpetrators would have enough for future carnivals.
The incident earned the emergency services praise among "netizens", with commenters praising the KaPo for, what was to some, an uncharacteristically relaxed reaction. Others saw it as an opportunity to poke fun, with one writing that if you park an unlocked car in the middle of Fasnacht, some hijinks are bound to ensue.