© Domingos Oliveira
An illegal rave in the Our valley drew almost 500 attendees from neighbouring countries on Friday night, prompting police intervention and condemnation from local officials after the event was held without permission in a protected nature reserve.
The Our valley is usually a quiet area, but that changed on Friday night and Saturday morning when an illegal rave took place a few kilometres from Heinerscheid.
After the French newspaper Essential spread the news of an illegal rave happening in Heinerscheid, the police confirmed it upon further inquiry. Police patrols were deployed to the scene and they are in contact with the rave's organiser. Initially, the authorities did not want to reveal how many people took party in the illegal event. In Heinerscheid, the police is in charge of traffic regulation at present.
Read also: Heavy police presence ends illegal rave near Heinerscheid on Saturday evening
After the French-language newspaper L’Essentiel reported on an illegal rave near Heinerscheid, the police confirmed the event following further inquiry. Patrols were deployed to the site and are in contact with the organiser. Initially, authorities declined to disclose how many people had taken part. In Heinerscheid, police are currently managing traffic in connection with the event.
On Saturday morning, the police informed Georges Keipes, the mayor of Clervaux, of the illegal gathering. In response to what had taken place in recent hours, the mayor said:
"A video that people took is making the rounds. Other inhabitants told me that they had seen a couple hundreds of people in a van driving towards the Our valley on Friday. A couple hundreds of people had gathered there. They built two to three stages for music, without asking for the commune's permission."
Mayor Keipes also stressed that such behaviour would not be tolerated by the municipality. Although the gathering took place several kilometres from the commune itself and the music could only be faintly heard, the location lies within a protected area of a nature conservation park. Hosting an unauthorised event in such a setting, he said, was entirely inappropriate.
According to information obtained by RTL.lu, most of the rave's attendees came from outside the country. Police are now preparing to shut the event down after initial interventions failed to disperse the crowd. Additional units from the Grand Ducal police have been deployed to the north of Luxembourg.
