Biscarrosse: what we know about the Travelers area where Kendji Girac was shot

Singer Kendji Girac was injured on the main passage area of ​​Biscarrosse (Landes), road to Parentis-en-Born. A place regularly frequented by the star and his family.

The reception area for Travelers where singer Kendji Girac was shot in the chest during the night from Sunday to Monday, near Biscarrosse, in the Landes, attracted all the attention this week. The facts took place in this major legal passage area, developed in 2011 on the Parentis-en-Born road, on the D652. Enough to shine the spotlight on this place where the singer and his family spend part of the year.

The caravans present in the Biscarrosse area “all belong to members or relatives of Kendji Girac” explained the public prosecutor in a press release following the case. They had been installed since April 11, 2024 and were supposed to stay there for two weeks. In the South West columns, the area manager speaks of regulars of the place who “pose no problem and respect the regulations”. In total, 80 caravans were present on the area in question, located near the aerodrome. Tuesday, April 23, in the early morning, they all left the place.

A source also confides to Sud Ouest that Kendji Girac “stays regularly” in Biscarrosse. “He comes here with his family, he is impeccable and respectful,” we learn. His appearances in local businesses would leave a good memory each time. A regular visitor to the place and the region, the winner of the 2014 edition of the show “The Voice” was even present at the Biscarrosse casino with members of his family on Sunday evening, the day before the shooting, according to information from BFMTV.

The gendarmes called around 5:30 a.m. Monday, will still describe in Le Parisien a "tense" atmosphere at the time of making the first observations in the Biscarrosse area, the relatives of Kendji Girac blocking communication on site, as the access to the singer in the hospital. “When they arrived on site, the soldiers were faced with around twenty people, who assured that nothing had happened in the camp and that no one had been injured,” writes the daily, which nevertheless emphasizes that subsequently “the acts essential to the investigation could be carried out without great difficulty”.

According to the departmental reception and housing plan for Travelers in Landes (2018-2024), the first reception area in Biscarrosse, the one where the events took place, is categorized as AGP (grand passage). It has 170 places and 85 pitches, one pitch being equivalent to a family, or two caravans. The town of Biscarrosse also has an area categorized as APP (small passage), comprising 30 places including 15 pitches. These two areas are managed by the Community of Communes of the Grands Lacs, which also manages the Sanguinet area.

Despite these structures, the establishment of illegal Traveler camps is a sensitive problem in Biscarrosse. In July 2023, the prefect of Landes, Françoise Tahéri, was present in the city for the presentation of summer relief and security measures. An event boycotted by the mayor of Biscarrosse, Hélène Larrezet, who highlighted "the inadequacy of the means" and the need to review "the procedures in order to be able, immediately, to intervene and prevent these groups of individuals from settling where they wish, at the height of the season and to take us hostage".