Vie et Lumière, the biggest festival of Roma evangelicals in France, has not yet found a venue for this year's event, which is due to take place from 24 to 31 August.

The government initially considered the departments of Vosges and Aube, but rejected them following many complaints from their residents.

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The minister for the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, granted their requests. “We listen to the concerns of local representatives and this gathering will not take place in either the Vosges or the Aisne”, he pointed out.

Public protests

The Vosges local authorities had expressed their concerns to Michel Fournier, the Minister for Rural Affairs, about “difficulties relating to site security, logistical organisation and the supply of water and electricity”.

The former military camp at Couvron, in the Aisne, was also among the venues being considered to host the gathering.

That is why Eric Delhaye, mayor of Laon, a town neighbouring the site, along with 44 elected representatives from the Aisne department, protested outside the regional prefecture.

“Our local infrastructure (road network, water, sewerage, emergency services) is completely ill-equipped to cope with such a strain”, said the mayor.

Nicolas Dragon, member of parliament for the first district of Aisne, was also among the elected officials opposing the gathering.

“The settlement of 20,000 to 30,000 people from the Traveller community would damage our region’s infrastructure, jeopardize its security, and harm all our residents, who don’t need any additional hardship”, he added.

“We will not tolerate a second one”

Although the minister for the Interior stressed that “the search for a suitable site is continuing actively”, elected representatives in the Loiret area, where the festival were held last year, are worried that the small commune of Nevoy will have to host it again.

“The prospect of hosting a second gathering has resurfaced in defiance of previous agreements, because the other regions that could potentially host it have made their opposition clear. This is unacceptable. We are the only region in France to host such a gathering every year. And we will not tolerate a second one”, they said in an open letter to the Prime Minister and the Minister for the Interior.

They “feel betrayed” because in February they went to the Home Office and “were assured that there would be no second gathering”.

Guillaume Davy, the mayor of Nevoy explained that with Vie et Lumière the population increases thirtyfold, “a flow of people that cannot be managed without extensive preparation”.

“Taking in 30,000 people in three weeks is not something that can be improvised. It is irresponsible given the situation in our hospital, but also given the dryness of the vegetation in an extremely sensitive forest area", they added.