Coronavirus: lack of nightclubs, it is the reign of "free parties"

On this dark road near the Bois de Vincennes, several figures weave their way between the trees. Their only guide: GPS coordinates and the light from their smartphone. It is a late Saturday night. The sounds of footsteps and nocturnal insects are gradually covered by those of the bass ... which cover everything when you finally come out on a clearing, where a hundred people wiggle around on electronic music. Welcome to a free party.

While discotheques still do not have the right to reopen their doors to the public, many "teufeurs" are now turning to these illegal and undeclared evenings.

Free parties, mostly free or with voluntary participation, are often organized in disused places or in the wilderness. The location of the party is communicated at the last minute and to a limited number of participants in order to avoid premature intervention by the police. The phenomenon is not new, it is thirty years old, but it seems to have exploded since the deconfinement in the Paris region.

“Three weeks ago, I went to a free party in the Bois de Vincennes and I came across five evenings before finding the right one! attests Benjamin, photographer and videographer met this Saturday evening. I have never seen so many clandestine events in the woods as since the deconfinement. "

And those we met have a lot to gain from it. "It's better than nightclubs, we're outdoors and it's open to everyone," says Désiré, who works in IT. "Sometimes in clubs, I feel too watched while in free everyone cares about you. And I don't want to pay 15 € for the cocktail, while here everything can be free, ”adds Cyrielle, journalist.

"At least we do not rush"

Matthieu is the founder of the collective organizing the party we visited. For two years, the three members have been organizing meetings in unusual places, churches or offices… But this Saturday evening, it was their first free. And Matthieu is very satisfied with the result: "We were very afraid for the police but ultimately we did everything to be responsible: we have a fire extinguisher, hydroalcoholic gel, trash bags to respect the place and we asked the participants to come with a mask. "

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The current context of the Covid-19 health crisis does not seem to frighten the participants of the evening: “I was scared at first, but I tell myself why worry if we don't care about it elsewhere. Look at the Canal Saint-Martin! At least in the woods, we have space and we do not jostle, "says Benjamin.

Risks for the organizers

What do the organizers of these illegal parties risk? According to a press release from the Maine-et-Loire police prefecture, the organizers are liable to six months' imprisonment and up to € 7,500 in fines. Participants can also be fined € 135.

"PROJECT X" EVENING AT @Angers STRICTLY PROHIBITED
The organizers are liable to heavy penalties and the participants to a fine of € 135. The forces of @PoliceNationale Police will be particularly vigilant. pic.twitter.com/AfviEdUGvs

For Ms. Marianne Rostan, a lawyer specializing in the defense of free party organizers, clandestine evenings “have long been the subject of significant repression and sometimes completely disproportionate, certainly linked to the prejudices of which they are still the subject. "

She recalls that the fine incurred for the organization of an illegal evening is € 1,500 maximum and the confiscation of the audio material which, most of the time, "is worth much more than the fine". And a bill adopted last fall in the Senate provides for a fine of € 3,750, even if, tempers the lawyer, she has little chance of succeeding, the government being against it.

"If they are prosecuted for sound assault, which is possible, they may face prison," said the lawyer, however, who defends 89 participants in the Nantes music festival during which Steve Maia Caniço was found dead, provoking a lively debate on police violence.

Interventions difficult to quantify

Since the deconfinement, the lawyer of the revelers says not to have noticed an increase in requests for defense for the organizers of clandestine evenings, "but it is resuming little by little," she explains.

When questioned, the Paris police headquarters was unable to communicate the number of interventions in order to disperse illegal parties since the deconfinement. However, almost every time, the police whistle for the end of recess. “It is rare that the police do not intervene in the frees. Most often, they stop the evening and everyone goes home, ”continues Benjamin.

Similar observation for Cyrielle, who went to a free party last Friday in the forest of Marly-le-Roi (Yvelines). The evening was interrupted by the police around 4 am: "They were four or five police officers, they came and they quietly dispersed the crowd of 200 people who were present," said the young woman.

Police interventions sometimes deemed too lax by some. This is the case for several inhabitants of Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis). The night from Saturday to last Sunday was eventful for residents of the Parc des Beaumonts, classified Natura 2,000 for its biodiversity. A free party was held until 10 a.m., annoying many people, who made it known on social networks.

The bastards who organize free parties in the Parc des Beaumonts until 10am in #Montreuil.
What do we do with your buddies walking around naked and the hundreds of nitrous oxide capsules on the ground? We keep the kids at home, the time of cleaning?

Sophie, a resident of Montreuil, has nothing against free parties as long as they "do not take place to the detriment of local residents". But she deplores the presence of nitrous oxide capsules which “flourish everywhere on public space. "

According to Thomas, another resident of the city, the intervention of the police came much too late.

@montreuil @glechequer @LucDiGallo @Loline_B @PatriceBessac
8:45 am parc d beaumonts end of the rave party !! music all night long! explanations from the town hall on the legality of the operation ??! residents have slept very well! pic.twitter.com/CI81qXIEZS

Last year, more than 4,000 free parties were identified in France, according to figures reported by Public Sénat.