A concert by DJ Barbara Butch was interrupted on Saturday evening in Grenoble after pro-Palestinian activists disrupted her performance following a call for a boycott supported by LFI, sparking accusations of anti-Semitism. Since May, this show has been the subject of a call for a boycott, notably from the Grenoble branch of La France insoumise.
This denounced the fact that the Jewish artist had signed a column in support of the contested Yadan bill aimed at “fighting new forms of anti-Semitism”, since withdrawn. This text intended to broaden the offense of advocating terrorism. He had been widely criticized, his opponents seeing in it a risk for freedom of expression and a possible dangerous amalgamation between French Jews and Israel.
Barbara Butch “was the target of an intolerable attack in the middle of a show”, reacted the Grenoble town hall to AFP, denouncing “throwing glass bottles” and other projectiles “deliberately targeting the stage”.
The Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, condemned this violence “with the greatest firmness”. “Anti-Semitism, intimidation and pressure have no place in our Republic. Preventing an artist from performing is an unacceptable attack on freedom of expression,” he reacted on X.
Barbara Butch, 45, a figure of Parisian LGBTQ+ nights who notably participated in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in 2024, performed around 10:20 p.m. as part of the Cabaret Frappé festival, organized by the city for 25 years. “There were about 150 activists in front of the stage who had banners, who were whistling, insulting him,” a festival program manager told AFP.
Middle fingers and suspended concert
Videos on social media show people waving Palestinian flags, raising middle fingers and blowing whistles, while the artist is on stage.
“We are extremely proud to have participated in this peaceful demonstration,” declared to AFP Allan Brunon, elected Insoumis at the town hall of Grenoble, who was himself present, recalling that he had several times requested the cancellation of this concert from the city.
According to him, “there were no projectiles thrown” on Saturday evening. “France insoumise has never called for violence against Ms. Butch,” he said.
After around twenty minutes, “faced with threats targeting the artist Barbara Butch, and in order to guarantee the safety of the public, the teams and all those present, the City of Grenoble took the decision to suspend the concert”, indicated the town hall in a press release. Barbara Butch left the stage to John Lennon’s “Imagine”.
Electrical installations were also sabotaged, according to the same source. “In a rule of law, protest can never take the form of violence aimed at silencing a person or hindering the exercise of their fundamental freedoms,” reacted the League against racism and anti-Semitism.
Licra denounces “an anti-Semitic amalgam consisting of assigning Jewish people to the politics of the State of Israel and making them collectively bear this responsibility.”
Target of cyberharassment after the Olympics
Contacted by AFP, Barbara Butch’s lawyer did not wish to react immediately. After her appearance in the opening show of the Paris Olympics alongside famous drag queens, Barbara Butch, feminist and lesbian activist, was the target of cyberharassment. In this case, four men were sentenced to terms of up to prison.
