​Seven people hospitalised following 30,000-person illegal rave in French village

Seven people have been hospitalised and dozens injured at an illegal rave in the French village of Fouillereau, Chezelles, over the weekend.

30,000 attended the illegal rave at its height, dubbed a ‘Teknival’ by organisers and local press. The unlicensed event went ahead on Thursday, May 18, and was curtailed by police on Sunday, May 21.

According to French news outlet BFMTV, the event took place on a private farm in France’s Indre region to celebrate 30 years of the Teknival, a large free party first started in 1993.

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“On the night of May 17 to 18, a large number of vehicles gathered in the agglomeration of Châteauroux before reaching the place called Fouillereau in the municipality of Villegongis in order to organize a ‘teknival’,” the prefecture of Indre said on Twitter on Thursday.

Around 20,000 were reported to be at the event during its first day, which rose to an estimated 30,000 at its height. Police did not attempt to evacuate the area for fear of “greater harm”.

More than 30 people were injured, DW News reported, including a 40-year-old man who was run over after falling asleep under a car. Seven people were taken to hospital, three of whom were “seriously injured”.

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Local authorities worked with the event to ensure the safety of punters by deploying medical treatment, the Red Cross, civil defence, volunteers, and more than 240 police. Bottles of water were given out to those attending to ensure their safety.

Police checked more than 15,000 punters across the weekend and more than 5,000 vehicles. They gave out 57 warnings or fines to those driving under the influence of narcotics or alcohol, and 293 for possession of drugs.

The event “calmly” came to an end on Sunday, May 21, BFMTV reports. Investigations into the organisers of the Teknival are underway.

[Via BFMTV]

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter