In view of the threats made against the artist and his audience, Live Nation, producer of Bilal Hassani's tour, explained that it had decided "with regret, sadness and spite", to cancel the show that was to be held in the former church of Saint-Pierre-Aux-Nonnains, now a theater. "We cannot let an appointment that was supposed to be a moment of joy, sharing and celebration, become a place of increased tension and malevolence," Live Nation said.

Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak said she was "shocked" by the cancellation. "In the face of extremism, calls to hatred, violence, culture must remain a space of freedom and emancipation," she wrote on Twitter.

Despite the cancellation, some 150 people gathered Wednesday night in Metz in support of Bilal Hassani chanting "No fachos in our neighborhoods, no neighborhood for fachos!" Among them, members of the local associations Couleurs Gaies, Les Effrontées 57 as well as the local sections of the NPA and Permanent Revolution.

"We will always stand united against the far right. We will not let them intimidate us but the state, the police have a responsibility in relation to their rise, they let it happen," said Christian Porta, 31, a permanent revolution activist.

Opposed to this concert, the collective Lorraine Catholique had screamed at the "desecration", in the middle of Holy Week, in a message on its blog widely relayed. Supported by Civitas, he called for a prayer of reparation before the concert, in front of the old church, deconsecrated for 500 years.

"Intellectual terrorism"

For the identity group Aurora Lorraine, which had joined the protests, the cancellation of the concert is "a victory". "It's the fruit of our commitment, for us, it's above all a message of hope and motivation," said Leo, 23, co-founder of Aurora Lorraine, who did not want to give his last name.

"There is a certain ethic to respect when organizing concerts in a church," he continued. "If tomorrow the concert had been done in a church with a cross and a bell tower, it would have scandalized everyone! In Saint-Pierre-Aux-Nonnains, there is none, but the building is still called +basilica+, so it's a church."

To which the mayor of Metz, François Grosdidier (ex-LR), replies: "Their indignation is based on nothing: for five centuries Saint-Pierre-Aux-Nonnains is no longer a church. It is a cultural hall that is part of the Cité Musicale Metz!"

The mayor laments that the producer of Bilal Hassani "yields to a form of intellectual terrorism, to the detriment of culture". "We can like or dislike Bilal Hassani, what is unacceptable is that in the name of an ideology we cancel a concert. It is a rollback of freedom of expression and a concession to homophobic extremists."

The associations Stop Homophobia and Mousse have filed a complaint against Civitas with the Metz prosecutor's office for discrimination because of gender identity, said their lawyer, Etienne Deshoulières.

SOS Racisme Moselle and the CGT Spectacle have also given their support to the artist in separate statements.

For his part, Ludovic Mendes, Renaissance MP for Moselle, "dismayed" by this cancellation, announced that he would ask the Minister of the Interior "the dissolution of the identity groups at the origin of this intimidation".

The next concert of the singer, former candidate representing the France at Eurovision, is scheduled for Friday at the Metronum in Toulouse.

© 2023 AFP