Every year, local authorities sound the alarm. Several elected officials of Loiret called on Thursday the State to "take responsibility" in the face of the nuisances suffered by the residents of an annual gathering of some 40,000 travellers members of an evangelical association in Nevoy (Loiret), on a land that usually hosts half. Organized every year by the evangelical association Life and Light, this event is to be held until Sunday.
"Before Covid, we had between 15,000 and 20,000 pilgrims. (...) 40,000 creates a lot of nuisance. We are not equipped to receive so many people. The population is exasperated, there will be a tragedy one day, "said the DVC mayor of Gien, near Nevoy, Francis Cammal. "It's total anarchy," regretted the elected official, referring to wild connections to water and electricity networks, as well as participants doing their business in the paths, green spaces and private land of the agglomeration. "People don't understand that we let it happen, but we don't have the upper hand. The State must assume its responsibilities to reduce the number of participants. 40,000 is not manageable," he insisted.
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The prefect of Loiret Régine Engström visited the site on Wednesday. The prefecture said Thursday that the device had 250 gendarmes to supervise 38,000 participants. The military carried out nearly 4,000 vehicle checks, found 177 traffic offenses and issued 56 fines for abandoning waste, said the prefecture.
"Do not wait for a tragedy before acting," added the RN deputy of Loiret Mathilde Paris. "What comes back is the droppings. (...) If it weren't for that, I think it would pass," she said. "Gien has 13,000 inhabitants: 40,000 people who disembark at once, the city is not able to absorb," said the elected official, also asking the State to establish a gauge in the future.
"The Giennois is not on fire and blood either"
On the side of Life and Light, Pastor Joseph Charpentier described a much less gloomy situation. "Of course, whatever the nature of the pilgrims, 40,000 participants in a small rural community, it creates discomfort. (...) The Giennois is not on fire and blood either. There are 250 gendarmes present. It's not organized anarchically," he said. Regarding the sanitary aspect, the pastor explained that he had installed a hundred toilets on the association's grounds. "I have a team of 12 people listening to mayors and residents, who will clean up on demand when land is soiled," he insisted.
On Tuesday, this situation almost degenerated, according to the mayor of Gien: an octogenarian was arrested after shooting in the air in the direction of a group of travellers entering his land to relieve themselves, he said. In custody, the man "said to have shot in the air, without intent to hurt anyone," confirmed the prosecutor of the Republic of Montargis Jean-Cédric Gaux. "There are no injuries" and the octogenarian will be tried in November for "violence with a weapon, without disability".