A man in the Brittany region of northwest France has been fined by police and faces further legal proceedings after breaking the country's coronavirus lockdown with the written explanation that he was going out to “smash a guy's face in”.

Police in the town of Lannion said that in the early hours of Saturday the man, 39, was found lurking behind a car by a police patrol and asked what he was doing.

“He explained that he was waiting for someone to 'smash their face in' and was carrying a flick knife," local police commander Daniel Kerdraon told AFP.

“He had the written form with his real name and the time he had left home — 10:15 pm. But we told him that the reason for going out was not valid.”