"It's unacceptable": Matthieu Pigasse denounces the ban on the Freeze Corleone concert at the Eurockéennes

The president of the Eurockéennes , Matthieu Pigasse , vigorously denounced on Sunday July 6 the prefectural ban on the concert of the rapper Freeze Corleone, seeing it as a "political" decision. Freeze Corleone , regularly accused of anti-Semitism and homophobia , but never convicted for his lyrics, has seen several of his concerts canceled in recent months in Lille , Lyon and Nantes .

The decision of the Prefect of the Territoire de Belfort , Alain Charrier, to ban his concert at the Eurockéennes de Belfort, which was to take place on July 6, was validated on Friday, July 4 by the administrative court. "We condemn the incitement to hatred, the racist and anti-Semitic remarks. That being said, this decision violates fundamental freedom, the freedom of expression, creation and programming. Banning a concert is prohibiting everyone from thinking, debating, feeling," declared Matthieu Pigasse, president of the festival, during a press conference on July 6.

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He insisted on the unprecedented nature of the ban on this concert. "Never in 35 years of [the festival's] existence has a concert been banned, never," he insisted, assuring that "none of Freeze Corleone's concerts" gave rise to "public disturbances." Matthieu Pigasse also attacked the Besançon interim relief judge. "He considered that in a festival bringing together 50 concerts, it was not serious to ban an artist," he lamented. "He forgot that this constitutes censorship, it is unacceptable."

Jean-Paul Roland, the festival's director, said several precautions had been taken to welcome Freeze Corleone, including a contract that included a behavioral clause. "There was a specific clause that stated that no objectionable material should be broadcast. We had requested the full song list and lyrics," he explained.

Despite the controversy, the festival attracted 130,000 spectators over four days, marking the second largest edition in its history. " Iron Maiden was a great moment, with a communion with the public that I have rarely seen," praised Kem Lalot, the festival's programmer. He also wanted to defend the controversial band Kneecap , also targeted by the prefecture, recalling that they "played at Glastonbury , the biggest festival in the world, without any problem."

Another highlight of this ^35th edition: a record attendance of people with disabilities, with 1,500 festival-goers involved, including 600 on Thursday, July 3 alone. The Eurockéennes will return from July 2 to 5, 2026.