thats the big problem. Crews here can just about get rigs together but there’s been a lot of dumbing down lately, and people what genuinely enjoy the more dysfunctional side of raves than the creative side of it….

however its not actually that much better the other side of the Channel as from reading their own forums a while back French ravers are getting dragged down by heroin to a extent and they have rig politics/problems/crime too

but in the UK there is much more emphasis placed on the sound and less on lights etc.

Also bear in mind that until recently French raves were tolerated more so there wasn’t so much risk to their resources – for instance if a UK crew done a website with so much info on it they would be busted and all the info used against them..

setting up something like that gas jet (although its actually a fairly common object used in movie/stage special effects) is far from trivial if its going to be safe…

TBH a similar amount is consumed amongst Britain’s ravers but less blatantly… if those class A’s are done a combination of paranoia and taboos (plus that if any form of cocaine is around often every blagger for miles around wants a bit) means its usually done amongst very close knit groups of friends.

I think this is true, its similar to the TENS license of England but some Council areas (or préfectures) just allow the gathering without the paperwork. Others however insist on (small amounts) of paperwork or refuse all gatherings.

I think this “light touch licensing” for smaller gatherings might be a EU rule as Pawelnrg mentions similar situations in Poland and CZ.

bear in mind though France is physically very large and there is more “spare” land what even if privately owned isn’t useable for farming/livestock and there is a tradition of permitting leisure activities on there if no one else nor the environment is harmed…