The Techno Parade celebrated its 25th anniversary with hundreds of thousands of people on Saturday in Paris

The sun and the crowds were there on Saturday September 23 in the streets of Paris, from Place de la Bastille to Nation, to celebrate electronic music and the 25th anniversary of the Techno Parade, which broke its record with some 400 000 people according to Technopol, which has organized the event since the beginning.

All generations represented

Twenty-five years after the first Techno Parade, which brought together 200,000 people on September 19, 1998 at the initiative of former Minister of Culture Jack Lang, all generations gathered on Saturday at this musical celebration, set by sixteen floats and dozens of DJs.

So Chantal, 69 years old, retired, crossed at the head of the procession, came from Alfortville (Val-de-Marne) with her 42-year-old daughter and her grandchildren, 9 and 12 years old, all very rhythmic. “I was already there for the first Techno Parade! I come every year! It’s music that has always had a blast with me. We let ourselves go, no need to know how to dance!“, she told AFP.

In the crowd, a majority were under thirty, some dressed as dinosaurs or Marsupilami, others with Indian chief headdresses.

“25 years ago, techno was singled out. Today, she has the right to citizenship. We saw it today: from generation to generation, the techno movement proves that it is joyful and peaceful “, confided to AFP Jack Lang, asked for numerous selfies by the partygoers at Place de la Bastille, before the departure of the tanks.

Another little effort to make electronic music accepted 100%

“The weather is good, the people are happy: we couldn’t have expected better for this 25th anniversary“, welcomed Tommy Vaudecrane, president of Technopol. “We must no longer be afraid! The time of doubt and fear around electronic music is over. It is time that electro music festivals are considered music festivals like any other“, added Mr. Vaudecrane, expressing the hope that “free parties” and “teknivals” would be accepted 100%.

“Our message today is to make it clear that there is still unequal treatment of artists and electro events, with additional constraints when setting up festivals, pressure on certain municipalities“, underlined the president of Technopol.

“From (composer) Pierre Henry to French Touch including Jean-Michel Jarre, Laurent Garnier and Manu Le Malin, electronic artists have marked the history of music for almost 50 years. They have made France one of the reference countries in the world and these trends must today be better considered and protected“, estimates Tommy Vaudecrane. He notably proposes the creation throughout France of reception areas for techno festivals, without noise or gauge constraints.