Animal rights defenders gathered today at Paris to protest against the Aquarium de Paris and the celebration he is preparing for it Revival her New Yearas it could, as they claim, hurt her animal welfare and to violate the law, allegations that the aquarium management rejects.

The members of the animal welfare organization Paris Animaux Zoopolis, who gathered today in front of the aquarium, denounced the “Unusual Revival” organized by the aquarium on Sunday, New Year’s Eve.

Some 1,500 “privileged” are preparing to dance “in front of the largest aquarium in France, with thousands of fish and the most beautiful species of the whole world”, the organizers promise in a press release issued about the event.

The Aquarium of Paris, one of the oldest in the world, which is now managed by a private company, has been turned into a nightclub on some nights since 2006. An activity that corresponds to almost 25% of its revenue.

But the organization Paris Animaux Zoopolis (PAZ) considers that these organized nights are illegal, as a French law of 2021 prohibits “presenting animals (…) in discotheques”.

“The fish are not an attraction or a decorative element,” the organization’s co-founder Amandine Sanvisance complains to AFP. “Not only are the animals imprisoned in the aquariums, but they will also be disturbed at night by noise and light,” he says.

This argument is rejected by the president of the aquarium, Alexis Povilevich. “Nothing passes. The methyl acrylate walls are 35-40 cm thick, it’s thicker than triple glazing,” he explains.

“Veterinarians’ reports have never shown any stereotypical behavior in animals,” Povilevich continued. According to him the nocturnal activity in the area had no impact on the fish, which is confirmed by an audit carried out in 2019 by the Directorate of Population Protection.

The president of the aquarium points out that the 2021 law is not violated: “we do not expose the animals, they remain calm in their tank”.