A 25m wall of sound, thousands of partygoers, emergency services on site… Report on the illegal rave party in Lozère

Les teufeurs s’agglutinent devant le mur de son de 25 m. Midi Libre – Célian Guignard

The first partygoers settled in this Saturday June 8, 2024 in the evening. In all likelihood, the party is not about to stop.

Pasta al sugo, panini, pizza, granita, Campari… It blows like an air of Italy under the wind turbines of the Parc des Taillades, straddling Chasseradès and La Bastide-Puylaurent (Lozère), where numerous stands have been set up: catering, drinking establishments, sales & nbsp;clothes… However, it is not a fair for transalpine products that took place this Saturday, June 8, 2024, in the evening, in this remote area, above the Jouquet ravine. ;Between 8,000 and 10,000 people, according to the count of the Lozère prefecture, would have responded to the call of a collective from Italy. nbsp;to illegally organize an imposing rave party there.

An imposing space for an extraordinary party. Midi Libre – Célian Guignard

On Sundays, around 12:30 p.m., the 25m wall of sound continues to spew out powerful electro music. Hundreds of partygoers are still dancing, some glued to the speakers. The bass is all the way up. When you get closer to the heart of the party, all the organs of the body start to vibrate. "Extrem music for extrem people" (extreme music for extreme people) claim some partygoers…

"It's a little beyond our control…"

Many participants also rest in their tent, in their car or in their converted truck. The atmosphere is calm. Some are still marked by their first night of partying. Alcohol is everywhere. Drugs too, both soft and hard. Cocaine is circulating. She sniffs herself directly on the phone screen, in full view of everyone. "It was suggested to me", smiles Aline who, with her husband Norbert, crosses the rave party towards Chasseradès.

The wild camp surrounds the wind turbines. Midi Libre – Célian Guignard

The two retirees, originally from Lorraine, are traveling the Stevenson path from Puy-en-Velay to Alès. They did not expect such encounters. "We arrive from the abbey of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in Ardèche. It changes the atmosphere, they joke. They are nice. We laughed a lot. We chatted and took photos with them. There was just one who called us vioques, to be smart. He was reframed by his friends. But it’s true that all this is a little beyond us…"

Significant resources deployed

This Sunday, fifteen Red Cross volunteers, including Altiligériens and Gardois, 41 firefighters with 19 vehicles, notably to intervene in the event of a forest fire, and around fifteen gendarmes, to control and secure access, as well as protect emergency access routes, are mobilized. According to the prefecture, which coordinates all these means, the party could last until this Wednesday, June 12.

Significant resources are deployed under the coordination of the prefecture. Midi Libre – Célian Guignard

A question remains: how were 8,000 to 10,000 revelers able to reach the Taillades wind farm? "We must always balance the benefit-risk before preventing an installation, replies Malcolm Théoleyre, chief of staff of the prefect of the Lozère and sous-prefect. We had a massive and sudden influx of vehicles, with major traffic jams. We had to make sure that this did not create an accident and that people were safe. We made sure that they settled in good conditions."

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