The visit of the pro-Palestinian group Kneecap to Rock en Seine in Bruno Retailleau's sights

"Pretending that supporting the Palestinian cause would be a public disturbance is lamentable," asserted Matthieu Pigasse in a tweet on Saturday, August 16. The left-wing businessman , owner of the Rock en Seine festival, responded bluntly to the Macronist MP for the 8th constituency of French people living outside France, Caroline Yadan. She criticized him for inviting the Northern Irish group Kneecap to the cultural event in the Paris region on Sunday, August 24. The trio from Belfast has been heavily criticized in recent months for its outspoken support for Palestine and controversial videos.

Caroline Yadan, who advocates for Benjamin Netanyahu's policies , contacted Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau on August 4 to demand a ban on the Kneecap concert. "Culture and music cannot promote the glorification of Islamist terrorism, support for Hezbollah and Hamas, or calls for murder and hatred of Jews," the MP insisted. She was referring to an ongoing investigation by the UK's counterterrorism police , following the release of videos showing one of the band's members waving a Hezbollah flag, an organization classified as a terrorist organization in the UK.

"In a context of a wave of anti-Semitism in France," the arrival of the hip-hop group could "encourage the spread of hate speech, by promoting terrorism, or even encourage the commission of anti-Semitic acts," the Macronist elected official explains.

The musicians from Northern Ireland, who sing in Gaelic, regularly wave Palestinian flags during their performances and have canceled several shows, including the South by Southwest festival —sponsored by the US Department of Defense, which sells arms to Israel— "in solidarity with the Palestinian people." Their outspoken support for Palestine has led to the cancellation of several concerts, including in Berlin and Cornwall, despite the success of their performances at Coachella and Glastonbury, where they projected pro-Palestinian messages and sang songs in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

In an Instagram post in May, the group recalled the deplorable situation in Gaza , "the famine," "the massacres," deploring this attack by the British government, "complicit with a war criminal [Benyamin Netanyahu]," and using its legal arsenal to "persecute artists who dare to speak out."

In response to Caroline Yadan's request, Bruno Retailleau assured her in a letter dated August 14 that he "firmly condemns the comments that may have been made by this group." The Minister of the Interior also "instructed [his] services to be very attentive to their expressions" during their performance on Sunday, August 17, at the Cabaret Vert festival in Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes). "Any excesses will be immediately prosecuted and, in conjunction with the Prefect of Paris, who is closely monitoring this situation, any element likely to constitute a disturbance of public order that is identified will result in a ban on their concert at the Rock en Seine festival," declared the tenant of Place Beauvau.

The French Jewish Observatory had also contacted the authorities to protest the Irish group's arrival in the Grand Est department. The prefect of the Ardennes responded to the association on August 15, stating that, following its request, he had "requested and obtained from the manager of the Kneecap group the production of a letter of commitment of good conduct," after having become aware of "certain positions likely to constitute acts of apology for terrorism and to cause a clear disturbance of public order."

Contacted by Libération this Monday, the Cabaret Vert festival, like the Ministry of the Interior, did not comment on the smooth running of the Kneecap concert. The same silence was expressed by Rock en Seine. Already, the city of Saint-Cloud, where the festival is taking place, announced on July 16 that it was withdrawing its €40,000 subsidy for the event due to the band's presence.