French interior minister vows tougher action against illegal raves

Published on 03/05/2026 - 17:34 GMT+2

France's Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, travelled adjacent to his hometown this Sunday wherever a huge escaped party has been taking spot since Friday connected a French service firing range, truthful acold without immoderate large incident.

On site, the curate flew implicit the area, which has brought unneurotic betwixt 17,000 and 40,000 radical from each implicit Europe, successful a nationalist gendarmerie helicopter, and visited a aesculapian station acceptable up connected the borderline of the camp.

The prime of determination is nary accident: successful a connection mimicking a prefectural bid published connected Saturday, the organisers constituent retired that the curate comes from Bourges, the département’s capital. They accidental they privation to inhabit the grooming crushed symbolically successful bid to "celebrate joyousness and communal aid", successful an anti-militarist connection protesting against the state’s repressive argumentation towards ravers.

The government’s effect is unequivocal: nary concessions. Laurent Nuñez told reporters that these demands volition lone "strengthen the government’s determination to ace down much harshly connected this benignant of chaotic event, which our chap citizens bash not understand".

He condemned the "carelessness" of participants who "invade" this tract "with nary respect for the beingness that goes connected there, oregon for the nuisance it causes".

Laurent Nuñez besides announced that the authorities volition proceed to propulsion its "Ripost" bill, approved by the furniture astatine the extremity of March, which increases penalties for undeclared escaped parties.

"From present on, organising a rave enactment volition beryllium a transgression offence punishable by 2 years successful situation and a 30,000-euro fine", helium hammered home, adding that an offence of taking portion successful specified events would besides beryllium created.

As the archetypal revellers were leaving the tract connected Sunday afternoon, the curate warned that each those who "leave the teknival volition beryllium fined connected 2 counts" – for trespassing connected subject onshore oregon for failing to comply with the prefect’s order.

The authorities, initially caught disconnected guard, rapidly deployed a large information operation. More than 600 gendarmes stay deployed astir the teknival.

According to a provisional study released by the minister, 33 radical person been treated by exigency services, 12 of whom were taken to hospital, "in portion for cause use".

From the outset, the information forces had warned of "pyrotechnic" risks linked to the imaginable beingness of unexploded munitions connected this firing range, which was inactive precocious being utilized for tests of the Caesar artillery system.

The prefecture reported connected Saturday that a archetypal ammunition had been recovered adjacent a section roadworthy connected the borderline of the site. A 2nd portion of ordnance, discovered since, is presently "being dealt with", Laurent Nuñez said.