The announcement was made on Sunday morning, with the microphone of one of the huge sound systems suddenly cut off from its loud sound. “A man is dead. » The party was then over for a large part of the participants in the rave party in Parnay (Maine-et-Loire), who left the scene immediately. For more than three days, however, they had danced and celebrated in a field in this commune in the Saumur vineyard, the ground of which was visited by more than 10,000 people. A tragedy which tarnished the event, already criticized by the authorities for its lack of organization and for the glaring lack of water and sanitation on site.
The assessment established by these same authorities was also intended to show that there had been no “let it happen”. To convince us, the Maine-et-Loire prefecture pulled out the numbers machine, citing “5,180 offenses representing a total fine of more than 650,000 euros”. The same prefecture also insisted on the seizure of sound equipment carried out in clouds of tear gas to force back the most virulent partygoers at the end of the gathering. A month after a big rave organized in Quimper, we can however ask ourselves questions. And wonder about the usefulness of the decrees brandished before each weekend by the prefects aimed at prohibiting festive gatherings.
What are prohibition orders used for?
Let’s be honest, they don’t do much good, to say the least. In short, we can say that the prefectural decrees allow the police to fine participants for “participation in a prohibited demonstration” at the end of the gathering. In Parnay, the gendarmes issued 2,100 fines of 135 euros, to which must be added 2,500 fines for nighttime noise. “Most won’t pay anyway,” notes a gendarmerie officer. Regularly confronted with these gatherings, the prefecture of Ille-et-Vilaine assures that the decree is necessary “so that no one can claim to be unaware of the ban on organizing or participating in this gathering”. According to state services, “it is necessary for participants to know that the event does not meet the necessary security conditions”.
Each party likely to bring together more than 500 people must be declared. You must then give your identity, present a security system, hygiene standards, public tranquility, etc. “The conditions demanded by the prefectures are impossible to meet,” replies Ben, who has been campaigning in the sector for years.
Easier material entries
Legend has it that the prefectural decree allows material seizures to be made. “The decree prohibits the circulation of heavy goods vehicles and utility vehicles transporting equipment used by sound systems. It allows internal security forces to apprehend, during road checks, the organizers’ sound equipment” ahead of the event, assures the Ille-et-Vilaine prefecture. Seizures of material must, however, be carried out with the agreement of the public prosecutor.
As for the deterrent effect, we doubt that it will be very effective, when we see the growing number of partygoers who have descended on Quimper, in the Var or in Seine-et-Marne in recent months. “These decrees are totally ineffective, it must be said. Because they do not make it possible to prevent gatherings and even less to put an end to them,” according to this gendarmerie officer who is familiar with the matter. For him, the orders would even be counterproductive. “We’re making fools of ourselves!” Because we prohibit things that we cannot prevent. The population does not understand why we do not intervene. It’s simply because we don’t have the means. »
Party organizers know this well. In recent months, the free party scene has even tended to favor large gatherings of several thousand people, in order to prevent the police from being able to prevent them. Especially since these events attract more and more young people, seduced by the image of freedom that emerges from them: free prices, free spirit, free clothing, free hours…
What do the organizers risk?
Not much there either. If an organizer could be identified, he would incur a 5th class fine “of up to 1,500 euros if he organized it as an individual and 4,500 euros if he organized it as an association”, recalls the Freeform collective which supports party organizers. And this, only if there were more than 500 people meeting. The current legal framework for raves is set by a simple contraventional field and their organization does not constitute an offense.
Take the example of the Lieuron rave party, which was the subject of press articles around the world in 2021. Organized in full confinement linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, this party gave rise to a torrent repressive qualifiers, some promising up to ten years in prison for the organizers. Six individuals suspected of having participated in the organization will be tried in the fall, had revealed West France. If they fail before a criminal court, it is only because they are suspected of receiving stolen goods, with some being accused of having tampered with license plates.
And again, they must be identified. Because in the world of partying, “there is no guru, no established hierarchy. There are a few thinking heads, but they rotate, they renew themselves,” a DJ familiar with the industry recently told us. The participants take part in the organization, lending a hand here and there.
Why do the police let this happen?
This is THE question asked by local residents who have already suffered the inconvenience of a rave party near their home. The answer is quite simple because once the revelers have settled in, it is difficult to dislodge them, especially since the police are often few in number. “Should we take the risk of having injuries or even deaths among the participants or the police to evacuate people who are partying? Intervening at night, with people who are drunk, sometimes drugged, is always risky. What’s crazy is that they ended up participating in the organization, since we secured the gathering, put in place an access route and organized relief. We forbid and we end up participating. We look like idiots,” continues the same gendarmerie officer.
In Redon, a man lost a hand during clashes with the police. The case was closed without further action but it had clearly put a brake on the intervention of the police in large gatherings.
So what can we do to better supervise the holding of these events which attract thousands of young and old? The solution will undoubtedly involve the evolution of the French legal framework. But in which direction ? Are stricter texts needed to repress the movement? Or accept that the phenomenon exists and will not die out? Not sure that the subject excites the crowds. One thing is certain: in the political sphere, everyone stays away from it.