Francofolies, Rock en Seine, We Love Green: when the war in Gaza invites itself into summer music festivals

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The legendary Glastonbury Festival set the tone. Under the British rain, English-speaking superstars Neil Young , Charli XCX and Rod Stewart sang to the more than 200,000 spectators gathered there this weekend at the end of June. But rappers Bob Vylan and Kneecap would ultimately make more noise : on stage and live on the BBC, the former called for the death of the soldiers of the Hebrew state and the latter accused Israel of being a "war criminal" state in front of the crowd.

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This summer, the war in Gaza seems to be interfering with music festivals. This Tuesday, July 16, the decision to invite Franco-Israeli singer Amir to the Francofolies de Spa, which opens this Thursday, has once again sparked outrage. Yoa, the sensation at the last Victoires de la Musique , has just canceled her appearance because of his presence. Ten other invited artists also protested in a joint statement. " We firmly dissociate ourselves from the decision to program Amir ," they wrote.

The reason: A group accused Amir on Instagram of being "a staff sergeant in the Israeli army" and of supporting the ongoing "genocide" in the Gaza Strip. The post notably denounced a concert he gave in Hebron, an Israeli settlement that is illegal under international law, or in tribute to the soldiers of the Hebrew state. The festival's directors then reiterated their " outrage at the ongoing tragedy in Gaza" but decided to maintain its program in a press release.

In early July, the Rock en Seine festival lost €40,000 in funding from the Saint-Cloud municipality. The reason? The lineup of the Northern Irish rap group Kneecap – now known for their anti-Israeli remarks at Glastonbury, but also because one of their members waved the flag of Hezbollah, whose armed wing is considered a terrorist group by the European Union, during a concert in London last November.

Other times, the war in Gaza comes up without controversy. Like when rappers Bigflo and Oli reworked their hit "Dommage" at the Les Déferlantes festival at the end of June. The audience heard them sing the story of a fictional " child of war ": 10-year-old Sami, who falls asleep at night " to the sound of bombs " in his house where " only dust remains." And they concluded with a raised fist on stage: " He draws a thornless flower in chalk, he hopes to see peace, one day in Palestine ."

More often, Palestinian flags are waved by artists. Once, on June 2, American R&B star SZA took one from the audience at We Love Green to wave it, while continuing to sing her song "20 Something" and launching into a chant of "Free Palestine." Another time, Gazan singer Marwan Abdelhamid, aka Saint Levant, known for his album "From Gaza With Love," wore it during his concert at the Francofolies de La Rochelle on July 15.

And the war in Gaza is likely to continue to be a feature on stages throughout the summer. The band Kneecap is still scheduled to perform on Sunday, August 17, at the Cabaret Vert festival, where it is being presented as a figurehead of " hip-hop in its most powerful and revolutionary form, breaking bans and barricades ." Audiences at major venues like Dour this Saturday and Lollapalooza this Sunday will be able to hear the Gazan Saint Levant. He'll certainly have his Palestinian flag in hand and the word " genocide " on his lips.