A concert by queer DJ and activist Barbara Butch scheduled for September 19 in Amiens has been cancelled, with organizers citing "contextual factors." The France-Palestine Solidarity Association (AFPS) claimed a "victory" on Wednesday after calling for a boycott of the event.
La Lune des Pirates, the Amiens concert venue that had booked three artists including Barbara Butch for the September 19 show, said the conditions necessary for the safety and reception of the public were no longer in place. The Amiens branch of the AFPS reacted on Instagram, saying the boycott call had worked and the concert was cancelled.
Political backlash
Xavier Bertrand, the Les Republicains president of the Hauts-de-France regional council, called the cancellation unacceptable on X. He said artists should not be chosen for the stage based on their opinions, religion or the causes attributed to them, adding that political intimidation should not be allowed to dictate cultural programming in France.
Pierre Savreux, the Les Republicains deputy president of the Amiens metropolitan authority, went further, saying that importing geopolitical conflicts to intimidate an artist represented a major and worrying democratic slide.
Repeated target of attacks
Barbara Butch, a queer activist, has faced regular attacks over her sexual orientation and her weight since she became one of the faces of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The Games, held in the French capital, drew global attention partly for their unconventional opening ceremony staged along the Seine, in which Butch appeared.
Her concert in Grenoble on July 18 was also targeted by a boycott call, including from the Grenoble branch of the left-wing party La France Insoumise. According to Grenoble's city hall, which announced it would file a legal complaint, that show was interrupted after around twenty minutes by objects being thrown at the stage.
Dispute over past appearances
Activists have criticized the DJ, who is Jewish, over her participation in 2025 in an event held at the residence of the French ambassador to Israel, and over her signing of an op-ed supporting the Yadan bill. That proposed law, which aimed to combat new forms of antisemitism, was contested and has since been withdrawn.
