Illegal Rave-Party in France Draws Thousands to Nature Reserve

Nearly 6,000 people have gathered since Saturday evening for a rave-party in the middle of nature in the town of Viols-en-Laval, a village located 20 km north of Montpellier, announced the Hérault prefecture on Sunday, without making mention of overflows.

In Montpellier, nearly 6,000 people are currently taking part in a rave party, in the town of Viols-en-Laval, a village north of the city. “The participants in this illegal rave-party arrived en masse during the night of Saturday to Sunday, generating significant traffic difficulties, on unsuitable terrain that was difficult to access”, specifies the press release from the prefecture, which also mentions the presence on the scene of “1,500 vehicles of all kinds (light vehicles, caravans, heavy goods vehicles, motorhomes)”.

The area where this event takes place illegally, classified as a Natura 2000 area, is “composed of scrubland and cramped tracks”, recalls the prefecture.

About fifty gendarmes are mobilized “to facilitate traffic and secure the surroundings. The perimeter is monitored to prevent the arrival of new participants and many controls are in place,” she continues. “Faced with the risk of fire and the difficulties in accessing emergency services, the organizers were made aware by the firefighters of SDIS 34 and the gendarmes”, also notes the prefecture.

A medical station has been set up to provide first aid and risk prevention associations are also present on site.

Another rave-party in Isère

In Isère, another undeclared rave party in the Roybon countryside gathered 1,500 people on Sunday morning, according to the prefecture of this department. The rally, which began overnight from Friday to Saturday, first brought together 450 people, before the number of participants rose to 1,500 on Sunday morning.

In a press release, the prefect announced that he had activated a crisis unit on the spot including firefighters, gendarmes and rescuers until the end of the rave party.