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Aude Prefect Orders 2,000-Person Illegal Rave to Disperse in Fire-Closed Corbières

Officials say the site remains off-limits because of a severe residual fire risk from the August 5 blaze.

Overview

  • About 2,000 people gathered overnight from Friday to Saturday in Fontjoncouse within the Corbières massif, according to the prefecture.
  • Prefect Alain Bucquet condemned the event as dangerous for attendees and disrespectful to residents and urged participants to leave immediately.
  • Gendarmes were heavily mobilized at the scene and reported hostility from some attendees, and an AFP photographer observed police blocking access roads.
  • The area is subject to a prefectoral order prohibiting all circulation because of its hazardous condition and a still-severe fire risk.
  • The region is recovering from the August 5 wildfire that burned roughly 16,000 hectares, destroyed 36 homes and caused one death, and the Fontjoncouse mayor called the party shameful.