Despite the coronavirus quarantine in force in France, a Perpignan prefecture resident went to Spain to buy cigarettes, but he got lost, RTBF reported.

The smokers in France’s Spanish border areas have a habit of purchasing cigarettes in Spain, where they is cheaper than in France. Despite the quarantine, one such smoker decided to go on foot through the mountains to get cigarettes.

The South Pyrenees Gendarmerie Department has convicted this man of lack of common sense, who was found in a village near the border with Spain, "exhausted, shivering from hunger, and lost."

The authorities had to mobilize a civilian security plane and "intensify the main funds" to rescue him.

"This young man, who got out of Perpignan by car, was returned to the French-Spanish border checkpoint when he wanted to leave for Jonquières [commune]," the gendarmes said. "Then he decided to go on foot, hoping to cross the border on a mountain road."

He then fell into a mountain stream, tangled in blackberry bushes, and then sought help.

Now the man has to pay a fine of 135 euros for violating quarantine conditions.