More than 2,500 people have attended an illegal rave in a warehouse at Lieuron near Rennes in Brittany, which began on Thursday and lasted for two days, Le Monde reports. Local authorities said police had tried to "prevent this event but faced fierce hostility from many partygoers". Attendees have clashed with police, setting fire to a car and throwing objects at officers attempting to shut the event down. At least three officers have been injured. Late on Friday, France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin held a crisis meeting to discuss the event. On Saturday morning the rave was interrupted, the sound was shut, and participants began to leave the premises.

Illegal raves are now flourishing in the UK, with hundreds of events taking place over the last few weekends, Dazed reports from illegal British podiums. These raves started in rural Britain during the summer, and moved to urban areas when it became cold, into warehouses of companies closed due to Covid-19. VICE wrote there were three types of raves: established unlicensed parties, set up by an experienced crew and with safety measures in place; established free parties at which the community self-polices, including returning to clean up afterwards; ‘moneygrab’ parties advertised online with the aim of making money. The police are slapping them with £10,000 fines, while the locals from Welsh village of Banwen went viral for their laidback attitude, which saw them make cups of tea for the ravers.

Thousands of revellers have been attending illegal raves throughout the UK over the weekend, leading to clashes with police, NME reports. An event in South Wales saw around 3000 in attendance over the weekend with two organisers handed fixed penalty notices for £10,000, under thea new law. Bottles and cans were thrown at officers at police attempted to break up an unlicensed event in Thetford Forest, Norfolk on Saturday. Those attending the gatherings and who do not wear face coverings also face fines of £100, which double on each offence up to £3200.

Across the UK, young people are ignoring lockdown, strapping on bumbags and making for woods and fields. With the coronavirus pandemic having closed bars and clubs and cancelled or postponed festivals, raves are sweeping the UK - Guardian reflects on illegal raves being held in the UK. There were plenty already - 4,000 people in Daisy Nook; 2,000 people attended a “quarantine rave” in Carrington; 1,000 people raved in Brookhay Woods, near Lichfield; hundreds of revellers danced to house music in a forest near Kirkby; 1,000 people gathered in Stokes Croft near Bristol; police shut down a rave in an underpass of the M1 motorway in Leeds; hundreds gathered in a courtyard in Moss Side in Manchester. One raver Katie, who attended an illegal rave in a forest near Glasgow, summed it up pretty close: “I had this feeling of: wow, people really will go far for a party, won’t they?”.

6,000 people attended two illegal “quarantine raves” in Manchester, England on Saturday, June 13th, which left one young man dead due to suspected overdose death. According to the BBC, there were also three stabbings, and the rape of an 18-year-old-woman. Streams of young people were seen on their way to the two "quarantine raves" on Saturday evening. There was also a large police presence at both sites.

The UK party scene is rebellious, diverse and decentralised by its nature, including groups of hedonists, hippies, crusties, punks, anarchists, communists, and conspiracy theorists – all of which have little regard for the rules enforced by the police - but largely they have chosen to abide the guidance given on COVID-19. Not all, as Mixmag reports - several illegal raves have been held across the country despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In a joint statement from two party crews, the organizers say that “free parties are about defying bad laws... That’s why we do squat parties - to give each other a sense of our collective power and help defy bad laws". 8sided blog announces The Road Rave, first ever US drive-in rave party.