2023-07-11 12:31:40
The artist was in the spotlight for having evoked on stage a lynching of Emmanuel Macron. She now explains that her tirade was “a fantasy story, a shared moment of free spirit, artistic”.
Izïa Higelin chose to break the silence in an interview with West France, Monday July 10, four days following his controversial performance at the Les Nuits Guitare festival in Beaulieu-sur-Mer (Alpes-Maritimes). The 32-year-old singer now assures that her remarks were “misinterpreted” et “decontextualized”, following the outcry triggered by his colorful evocation of the lynching of Emmanuel Macron. Franceinfo looks back on the twists and turns of the past few days.
Act 1: an improvised tirade on stage
It all starts Thursday during a monologue on stage, between two songs. Izïa Higelin improvises a tirade, and briefly slips into the skin of Emmanuel Macron. “I think what the people want, what the people want, is to have me hung 20 meters off the ground like a giant human piñata, and all of us here with huge bats. with nails at the end as in Clockwork Orange [titre original du film Orange mécanique]”.
The singer continues her story, as seen in a video posted by the cultural magazine InOut Côte d’Azur: “And there we would bring him down, but with all the grace and kindness that the people of the South haveshe says. We would all have our bats with our little nails, and in a bengal fire of joy, of living flesh and blood, we would knock him down, but gently you see…” The singer then ironically: “I already see the headline of Nice morning tomorrow: Izïa calls for the murder of Macron”, reports the regional daily.
Act 2: remarks denounced by the mayor of Beaulieu
“It did not surprise his fans, who understood his irony and even laughed at the start of his long speech”reports Jimmy Boursicot, a journalist from Nice morning questioned by The Parisian. Warned by spectators, the gendarmes try to pick up the singer at the end of the concert, first in the dressing rooms then in her bus, before finding that she has already left.
“The regulations mean that we can’t go in like that. There were long palavers between the manager and the gendarmerie”declares to Nice morning the mayor of Beaulieu, Roger Roux, arrived on the scene around midnight. “It feels like a meeting of La France insoumise“, he continues, before expressing his annoyance. “Today, we want everything except to hear someone threaten, insult, smear anyone.” His Culture Assistant, Marie-José Lasry, was present at the concert. She explains daily that “friends left outraged” and have been “very bothered”. “I was wondering if I should get her fired”she says.
Act 3: a torrent of reactions
The images of the performance are widely commented on social networks. Renaissance du Nord MP Violette Spillebout, in particular, points out a “call for murder” in a context of violence once morest elected officials. The Les Nuits Guitare festival, for its part, considers that the words of Izïa Higelin are “clean” and that the “production detaches itself from any position”.
Act 4: an investigation opened once morest him
The Nice prosecutor’s office announced on Saturday the opening of an investigation targeting the singer for “public provocation to commit a crime or an offense”. The investigations are entrusted to the territorial brigade of the gendarmerie of Beaulieu-sur-Mer and to the research brigade, adds the prosecutor of Nice, Xavier Bonhomme, specifying that the investigation does not follow a complaint. This procedure can end with a “dismissal if the prosecutor decides to drop the charges”explain to Parisian Antoine Gitton, lawyer specializing in press law. Or by a “dismissal to the criminal court”.
Act 5: a canceled concert in the North
Two days later, the town hall of Marcq-en-Barœul (North) decided to cancel a concert by the singer, scheduled for Thursday evening before the fireworks, on the eve of July 14. The contract binding the parties is terminated “unilaterally”, specifies this municipality led by the mayor LR Bernard Gérard. The words of Izïa Higelin are judged “in contradiction to the prevailing values of gathering and unity” during the national holiday. “They outrage all the Marcquois like all those who are attached to the values of the Republic”, adds the municipality. The singer was to perform “for a public, free and family concert” at the city racecourse.
The management of the Francofolies de La Rochelle, on the other hand, let it be known that the singer would perform well on Wednesday July 12, as planned.
Act 6: explanations in an interview
Izïa Higelin finally returns to the controversy, in an interview with West France. “I am very sorry that this was misinterpreted, decontextualized”she declares in particular, ensuring that she does not have to “no time” “wanted to incite violence or hatred”. She then gives an explanation of her digression on stage: “It’s a story, an improvised and surreal link between two titles, which talks regarding everything and nothing and which should not be taken at face value”. Finally, she describes her concerts as “places of benevolence and love, madness and improvisation”, and evokes “a fantasy story, a shared moment of a free, artistic spirit”.
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