French fest says latest edition could be its last
Organisers of one of France’s biggest and longest-running music festivals say the 2024 edition could be its last, amid a dispute with local authorities.
The privately-funded 70,000-cap Les Vieilles Charrues festival in Carhaix, Brittany has been held since 1992, attracting the likes of Robbie Williams, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blur, Muse, Lana Del Rey, Depeche Mode and Neil Young.
This year’s event, scheduled for 11-14 July, will star David Guetta, Kings of Leon, Sting, Sam Smith, Gossip, PJ Harvey, Yungblud and Simple Minds, among others. Regular four-day tickets cost €197.
But the Vieilles Charrues Association (VCA) is warning that “recent decisions by the municipality of Carhaix and the Poher community” have put the future of the festival at risk.
“If nothing changes between now and summer, the 2024 Les Vieilles Charrues could be the last,” say organisers.
According to Connexion France, the series of disagreements includes the sale of a building situated in the area used for the festival’s main entrance. Organisers had hoped to purchase the building but it was instead sold to a third party by the council last December, with the new owners set to move in this summer.
“Unfortunately, if nothing changes by this summer, the 2024 edition of Vieilles Charrues could well be the last”
Moreover, the VCA says it was hit with an “excessive and unfair” €367,000 bill from the council “without consultation” for use of the “meadow, buildings and the provision of municipal staff”.
It also alleges that Poher Council decided last month to “no longer make available half of the land occupied by the festival’s campsites from 2026″, and claims that officials are making decisions “without full knowledge of the facts”, and “constantly changing their mind”.
Stressing that the event brings in “over €2 million in donations”, as well as tourism, jobs, sponsorships and other benefits to the region, promoters are appealing “to the elected representatives of central Brittany to save the festival”.
“Faced with incessant reversals, we have the feeling that we are experiencing a relentless attack on our association,” says the association. “The accumulation of these decisions leads us to a dead end. We have had to constantly adapt in recent years. Today, we no longer have any room for manoeuvre or fallback around the festival.
“We are still, more than ever, viscerally attached to Carhaix and its inhabitants for almost 30 years and we cannot imagine the end of Vieilles Charrues. We are now calling on the elected representatives of central Breton to save the festival. Unfortunately, if nothing changes by this summer, the 2024 edition of Vieilles Charrues could well be the last.”
The local authorities are yet to respond to the claims.
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French man loses hand in pre-festival clash
Seven people, including five police officers, were injured on Friday night as police broke up an illegal rave in Brittany.
Violent clashes broke out after 400 gendarmes were dispatched to shut down the party, a so-called ‘teknival’ which had been organised in violation of an 11pm curfew, at a racecourse near the commune of Redon on the evening of 18 June.
The rave was held on the eve of the annual Fête de la Musique festival – which takes place in a reduced-capacity format today (21 June) – and was intended to commemorate Steve Maia Caniço, a young man who died after falling into the Loire river during Fête de la Musique in 2019. ‘Justice for Steve’ protesters hold the police responsible for Caniço’s death, which occurred after officers moved in to break up a gathering in Nantes.
Authorities say some partygoers pelted police with molotov cocktails and pieces of breeze block
Local authorities had secured a legal order against the party, which involved as many as 1,500 people. The National Gendarmerie seized equipment including sound systems and generators after dispersing the crowds.
Speaking to AFP, local prefect Emmanuel Berthier describes the “very violent clashes” on 18 June between police and the ravers, who “had an objective: to confront the forces of public order”. Authorities say some partygoers brought metal pétanque balls to the rave, while others pelted police with molotov cocktails and pieces of breeze block.
Two police officers suffered serious enough injuries as to need hospital treatment, while two ravers were also injured – including one man who lost a hand in the violence. Organisers of the rave accuse police of choosing ‘violence instead of dialogue’ after firing tear gas grenades at the gathering.
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