REPORTAGE: Its time for it to end: in Cher, the free party continues but the authorities are preparing for the end of the celebration.

Since Friday, more than 20,000 people have been attending a wild party near Bourges. An event that has disrupted the daily lives of the surrounding communes, and one that the gendarmes are closely monitoring.

Published on May 4, 2026 at 17:37 • Reading Time: 4min

Caption: The free party started on May 1, 2026, in Cornusse, Cher. (TRISTAN-SACHA B. / PHOTOPQR / BERRY REPUBLICAIN / MAXPPP)

The free party set up on a military site in Cher since May 1 is still ongoing on Monday, as per a statement from the national gendarmerie. “People are gradually leaving the site,” the text continues. The Cher prefecture still counts around 5,000 participants on-site “at most” on Monday afternoon. Over 20,000 people had gathered on the military site near Bourges. But after four days, the time is beginning to feel long.

Tired, Denis Durand, the mayor of the village of Bengy-sur-Craon, mentioned sleeping a bit better. He watches the partygoers queuing, hoods on their heads under the drizzle, to stock up at the village grocery store. Many have already left, but on the hill, the free party continues and the mayor has no idea when it will end. “I’m not sure, we’ll wait for the festival to finish. I have no date for the end of the operations,” he said.

“We’re dealing with things day by day, if not hour by hour,” explains the mayor. For the past three days, they have had to manage stray dogs, thousands of parked cars all over the village, and roads blocked by gendarme barricades. “It’s a bit surprising that we suspended school transportation today. We have an agricultural high school, and even for the college, transportation has been canceled. The parents are figuring it out,” tells Denis Durand. “The community hall has been requisitioned for emergencies. Today, the children were supposed to do gymnastics in the community hall. All of this has been disrupted. It’s time for it to end.”

The mayor points out a camping car stranded in the middle of a field, probably stuck in a rut. The partygoers have taken the paths to avoid fines. The mayor hasn’t tallied it all up yet, but he fears more damage for the farmers.

The atmosphere has slightly shifted in the last few hours. On the road leading to the military site, mobile gendarmerie trucks start gathering around the free party site. Many gendarmerie officers are equipped with knee pads for law enforcement. The evacuation seems imminent. “We’ve heard about €135 fines for participation and obstructive parking, they like to tax us on that,” predicts a young Normand partygoer in an oversized camping car. “At each event, everyone gets a €135 fine for the vehicle and per person,” confirms one of his friends.

Around the sea of tents, camper vans, and stands selling crepes – or LSD -, the free party is no longer as impressive as it was over the weekend. But the loud walls of sound continue to blast techno music. Anthony, a 32-year-old Alsace market gardener, sips a beer on his camping chair. He remains, despite the rain and the gendarmes. “We placed a log between the two cars to shelter when needed, if only a bit,” he describes. “I’m waiting for my buddies to wake up a bit. Afterwards, we’ll have a little meal, a little bolognese, and that’s it.” And he plans to stay put: “Back to partying, if it’s still going.” For him, a gendarme intervention is not imminent. “Impossible. Have you seen the scale? I don’t know how we could stop it just like that.”

This morning, the prefecture announced that detonations may be heard at a distance. The army is set to resume its tests on the firing range, but obviously at a safe distance with all necessary security guarantees. In front of the huge speakers adorned with a woman’s snake head, the die-hards continue to dance under the gaze of the gendarmerie helicopter that continues to circle.

The national gendarmerie also indicates that the “dangerousness” of the site is established, particularly since “the discovery of a shell [Sunday] and a shell fragment, handled by the bomb disposal unit,” and adds that “no incidents have been reported.” The tests “safe for the remaining festivalgoers, will be carried out” on Monday on the site, adds the SIRPA (information and public relations service of the armies).

Regarding the figures, 19,636 checks had been carried out by 6 a.m. on Monday. 63 weapons were seized, 3,578 fines were issued, five people were taken into custody, and 151 fines were issued for drug possession. The authorities also checked 8,776 vehicles. Damages have also been observed, such as “graffiti, a broken bunker door, a damaged electrical cabinet, and a broken barrier,” as detailed by the national gendarmerie. Additionally, four people are in critical condition, out of the 87 treated by emergency services.