More than 20,000 ravers who attended an illegal outdoor party in northern France this weekend were accused Monday of damaging a nature zone and disturbing the local birdlife.

The gathering at an abandoned former military site in Marigny in northern France was for the 25th edition of Teknival, an unauthorised electronic music festival that is meant to last until Tuesday.

Local group Conservation for the Natural Areas of Champagne-Ardenne filed a police complaint on Monday and said local authorities had not done enough to prevent the damage.

Roger Gony from the association said that the base had 410 species of flowers and plants, as well as rare orchids which had led the base to be declared a nature reserve in 2005.

"It's a critical period for local fauna: the birds need peace and quiet. When we go, we get authorisation and we enter extremely discreetly in order not to disturb them," Etienne Clement from a local bird protection group said.

He said that nearly 200 tonnes of rubbish had to be collected at the site after the last Teknival event in Marigny in 2005.

The festival is an annual illegal rave for techno fans that is held at a secret location which is revealed only at the last minute.

At the military location in Marigny, dozens of different sound systems lined the former runways, while revellers parked vans and camped out throughout the base.

Part of its appeal is its uncommercial, illegal nature, as well as the open sale of drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy.

"If it was legal, there'd be more lights, more beer tents and kebab shops on the tarmac," one attendee, 30-year-old Raphael, told AFP on Sunday. "It would be like a giant club."

Related Links
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Microplastics in Arctic sea ice - 'nowhere is immune'
Paris (AFP) April 24, 2018
Researchers warned Tuesday of a "troubling" accumulation of microplastics in sea ice floating in the Arctic ocean, a major potential source of water pollution as global warming melts the sheets of frozen water. A team from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) found 17 different plastic types in ice samples gathered during three Arctic expeditions on board the research icebreaker Polarstern in 2014 and 2015. They included plastic from shopping bags and food packaging, ... read more