It was a big party to celebrate the New Year. A rally attended by 2,500 people after ten months of restrictions imposed by the rampant Covid-19 epidemic. In Lieuron, in Ille-et-Vilaine, the rave party celebrating the transition to 2021 had become a national topic of conversation, even inviting itself to the New Year’s table of the ministers closest to Emmanuel Macron. For several days, the organizers of this mysterious party were among the most wanted people in France. Part of the population shouted at a “dangerous” attitude that could create a large cluster in a country living under restrictions. Six months later, it was on the occasion of violent clashes in Redon that the subject of the party returned to the top of the pile of counter discussions. It mentioned the loss of a hand, access made impossible to help by the prefecture or the illegal destruction of equipment by the police.
The boom in free parties
These two events reminded France of the existence of a little-known and often frowned upon underground community. They have also generated an impressive quantity of articles relating the smallest party bringing together 50 people in the depths of the Monts d’Arrees or the Aube. Perceived as a space of freedom by its followers, are there more raves in these times when prohibitions are increasing? Difficult to know. “Since May, at the end of the 3rd confinement, there has indeed been a significant resumption of free parties. Their number is difficult to estimate because for how many discovered festivals are there festivals that pass under the radar? », Asks Fabrice, member of the Techno + association. A “Night of the Meutes” took place the weekend of July 31st in support of the wounded of the Redon party.
Rave party in Redon: “Never seen before”… Why did the gendarmes destroy the equipment of the chirkers with ax? https://t.co/Bt5ZzMPM9d via @ 20minutesRennes pic.twitter.com/C5xeoNDcEm
– 20 Minutes Rennes (@ 20minutesrennes) June 21, 2021
Before the epidemic, the Ministry of the Interior had identified 4,000 teufs per year, or a little less than 100 per weekend on average. But they mostly flower in summer. “For three or four years, there has been a real boom in freelancers. But it’s a demanding environment, which you have to know to have the information, where you have to invest, where you know everything at the last minute. It does not suit everyone and it clearly protects us from overcrowding ”, continues Victor Lacroix, spokesperson for Media’son.
From the margin to the standard with confinement
The testimony of this old man seems to confirm the trend. Yes, rave is popular. And it is not the recent appearance of health restrictions, which some consider liberticidal, which will stem the phenomenon. “Free parties have been on the margins for thirty years. But since the first lockdown in March 2020, it has become the norm for all types of parties since they all went underground overnight. But this is the very concept of the movement: a festive resistance. Freebies have been facing fines, legal proceedings, the loss of their driving license, physical violence, moral disapproval from those around them for thirty years to continue going to this type of party because they find a space of freedom. and resistance that does not exist anywhere else, ”continues the Techno + member.
Every weekend eve, many prefects, however, take orders prohibiting musical gatherings of a festive nature. Their target is not directly named but everyone can read between the lines. State representatives want to prevent dozens or even hundreds of young and old from coming to put their sound in abandoned fields or sheds on their territory. The repression suffered in Redon could have discouraged some. On the contrary, it seems to have galvanized an entire community.
“Party is being free. There is a special atmosphere, a feeling of freedom that I cannot find anywhere else, ”summarizes a fan of parties.
“Be careful, however, not to stick an anti-tax or anti-mask label to the party-goers. In the current situation, the movement has kept its inclusive character and welcomes everyone, ”recalls Techno +. The treatment undergone by the organizers of the New Year’s party in Lieuron had however put a brake on the general enthusiasm, and many voices were raised to denounce the judicial and media harassment. “A 22-year-old guy with no record faces ten years in prison for making people dance on New Year’s Eve. This is delirium! And it is very serious ”, then confided to us Emilie, a Breton teufeuse.
Twice as many complaints against repression
The feeling of a stronger repression seems to be reflected in the facts. In 2020, the Sound System Legal Support Fund handled “twice as many cases as in 2019”. Even though the number of parties had considerably decreased, due to the Covid-19. The night of clashes in Redon, coupled with the destruction of sound equipment paradoxically “relaxed” certain authorities who seem less in a hurry to cut the sound off than in the past. Misunderstood and often frowned upon, the world of rave has not lost its ambition. Resist, in its own way: dancing to the rhythm of techno.