Undeclared rave party in Lozère: an open investigation and material seized

In one of the French departments least affected by the virus, this wild "rave", which brought together several thousand people between Saturday evening and Wednesday, shocked residents of Lozère. In the midst of the Covid-19 epidemic, justice opened an investigation for the organization of an undeclared demonstration and equipment was seized after a giant rave party organized in the Cévennes national park, the Mende prosecutor said on Thursday. .

The seizures - including a truck, a trailer, two generators and four "sound-systems" - "will give rise to hearings of people holding these materials," said the prosecutor Xavier Sicot, who spoke of an "investigation in long course ”.

Listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site

The prefect of Lozère, Valérie Hatsch, had given Wednesday afternoon "the order to evacuate the illegally occupied site" by up to 10,000 revelers since Saturday in Hures-la-Parade, on the vast limestone plateau of the Causse Méjean. In France, gatherings of more than 5,000 people are prohibited due to the coronavirus epidemic.

The Causses and Cévennes site has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2011, in particular for the landscapes shaped by agro-pastoralism over three millennia. The nature, extent and duration of this illegal gathering in an environmental zone with a fragile and protected ecosystem, moreover in times of pandemic, aroused the indignation of certain inhabitants of Lozère.

Valérie Hatch spoke on site Wednesday with the owners of the land and the farmers concerned to assess the state of the site after the evacuation. "Agro-pastoralism will resume its rights on this part of the Causse Méjean", she assured.