On Thursday evening, the number of "teufeurs" crowding on a private plot of 70 hectares, uncultivated fields now strewn with hundreds of vehicles, tents and perimeter walls, had already reached 15,000 to 20,000 people.
And this is just the beginning, says Stéphane Bredin, prefect of Indre, who gave a press conference in the late afternoon in Villegongis.
"It is anticipated, from concordant sources, and in particular from contacts made with participants on the site, that participation should increase in successive waves throughout the day tomorrow. The Teknival could be spread out until Monday, "says the prefect.
"We have set up tents and we plan to stay for four days. We are used to rave parties. Thanks to the networks, everything goes very fast. We share the information between teufeurs and we organize, "says happily Antonin, 20, from Toulouse and who did not wish to reveal his name.
Taken by surprise by this gathering, theoretically prohibited by two prefectural decrees, neither the town hall of Villegongis - only 110 inhabitants - nor the local authorities had however been able to organize themselves to supervise such a flood of participants, coming from all over the France and even from abroad.
"The Teknival has not been declared in the prefecture and being prohibited, it did not allow the services of the State and the local authorities to prepare this gathering in the best conditions," lamented the prefect.
Approved associations also organize a presence of 25 to 35 volunteers on the festival site.
"We will disturb nobody"
"The fact that this festival is banned does not stop us. We are on an isolated field, we will disturb nobody, "says Martin, 22, arrived from Gers. The meadow is indeed located on a high point, surrounded by woods difficult to access, far from the houses.
"We collect our waste. Look at each rear-view mirror, we have installed garbage bags, "adds the young partygoer.
This did not prevent local authorities from making skips available on site for waste generated by festival-goers. Water has also been requisitioned from supermarkets and "the State will compensate for the shortcomings of the organizers to install sanitary blocks," lists the prefect.
Material considerations that do not concern the majority of Teknival participants, eager to return to this festival created just thirty years ago and which could not be held for the last three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We come looking for pleasure, smiles and serotonin," says Marine, 47, a florist in Cannes.
"I like the music, the atmosphere, the energy... It feels like we're in the 70s in Woodstock. We find the hippie years of our parents where everything was almost allowed, "says Yann, truck driver. A breath of fresh air and freedom for those who, like him, "can no longer stand the system," he explains.
The mayor of the village, Jean-Marc Sevault, "faced with a fait accompli", resigned. "We suffer. I leave it to the prefect who took matters into his own hands. What scares us is the abuse of alcohol and drugs," he says.
No incident had been reported during the first day of the Teknival, around which 200 gendarmes were mobilized, with reinforcements sent from Blois and Marseille.
© 2023 AFP