On June 27th, 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk was killed by Paris Police Prefecture officers in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre. Since the incident, riots and protests spread quickly throughout all of France. Cities such as Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, and Paris have seen over 3,000 arrests so far. Furthermore, countless incidents of fires, disturbances and social disorder have forced many music festivals and events in France to cancel.
*Featured Photo Credit: ParisSecret.com / Madame Loyal
Notable music festivals and events in France cancelled
One such festival was The Madame Loyal festival. It was set to run on July 1st in Paris yet was cancelled, with organizers stating it was “impossible” to go ahead following a ceasefire implemented by the Villeneuve-la-Garenne town hall and public transport being inaccessible. The four-day Nostromo Festival, set to occur for the July 7th-10th weekend in north-central France, had to cancel as well and festival organizers announced the news via Instagram.
Additionally, the two-day event The Beat and Beer Festival in Montrouge – just outside of Paris – did the same. The festival was supposed to host performances from Celyon, René Danger and Futuro. However, the commune of Malakoff in the Hauts-de-Seine department decided to cancel all events, which planned to happen all weekend. The Beat and Beer Festival posted a statement on Instagram. The statement – translated from French – exclaimed, “We are profoundly shocked by the circumstances of Nahel’s death, and in general by the dark political climate. Our thoughts are with the relatives of the victims of police violence.”
Additional events being cancelled
According to Resident Advisor, Parisian parties Feel Free Records’ Silence Ça Rave, 100Canap’s Insomnia night and the final day of the 11th Fnac Live festival were also cancelled over the weekend. There will be more updates coming up soon in regards to status of music festivals and events in France. The updates will appear more especially when the riots and protests will subside.
