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Caterpillars clear crowds
Chalons-En-Champagne, France - An invasion of caterpillars prompted French authorities to shut down a giant rave that had been expecting up to 100 000 techno music fans over the weekend.
Authorities shut down access to the site, on a former airfield at Marigny, 115km east of Paris.
The 10 000 ravers who had already shown up Friday evening for the annual Teknival dance festival were advised to cover up and plant their tents on hard ground, not on grass.
Caterpillar invasions are not that rare in eastern France.
Medics dealt with at least 36 people on Friday who suffered allergic reactions, regional official Dominique Dubois said.
He said he feared that thousands of people could develop allergies and hives if the site remained open.
"We would be incapable of treating this health problem that can, if there are problems with alcohol or drugs, carry vital risks _ in any case risks of giant hives, asthma attacks, eye lesions," he said on France-Info radio.
He said ravers would not be forcibly ejected from the airfield overnight. Organisers said they had received a letter from French health authorities asking that the rave be stopped.
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