EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP
A concert by Bilal Hassani, ex-candidate of France for Eurovision, scheduled for Wednesday April 5 in an old church in Metz is controversial within Catholic movements because of his sexual orientation.
HOMOPHOBIA – A « outrage » a few days away from Easter? The concert of Bilal Hassani, former candidate of France for Eurovision, scheduled for Wednesday, April 5 in an old church in Metz is controversial within local Catholic and traditionalist movements because of the sexual orientation of the singer, door- claimed flag of the LGBT+ community.
It all started with a message on the collective’s blog “Catholic Lorraine”March 28, shouting at the “profanation” and calling the “faithful Christians” to a collective prayer in front of the concert hall, the former church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains.
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Relayed by the extreme right
Believing that the performances of the singer “are nothing but pornographic”the collective announced the organization of a “rosary of repair” : a gathering 15 minutes before the start of the concert intended to pray in order to atone for sins.
Relayed on social networks by several media close to the far right and identity circles, their appeal was heard and raised fears of the movement of activists who might go beyond the framework of the department, according to territorial intelligence.
“One of the oldest religious buildings in France, now intended for acoustic concerts, must it suffer this outrage in the middle of Holy Week before Easter? Get back to common sense! »wrote the regional councilor Rassemblement national du Grand-Est, Françoise Grolet, on her Facebook account, questioning the mayor of Metz, François Grosdidier (ex-LR).
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Mobilization in support
“This ancient basilica in the Roman and civil sense of the term and not Christian, linked to water buildings and which saw the inhabitants of the time bathe naked, was only a church for a short time”replied François Grosdidier in a press release. “It has been desecrated for more than 500 years and has today become a performance hall much appreciated by Metz and artists of all kinds”. “I am a city councilor who will always oppose obscurantism and extremism whatever they are”he added.
Faced with the mobilization once morest the arrival of the singer, a second rally, this time in support of the event, is planned in Metz, at 7:00 p.m., at the Merten column, a few hundred meters from the church. Declared in the Prefecture on Monday – unlike the rosary of reparation – it emanates in particular from the local sections of the National Confederation of Labor and Permanent Revolution, joined by the Communist Party or Metz feminist associations such as Grenada.
Bilal Hassani’s concert, still scheduled for Wednesday evening, is sold out (90 seats) on ticket sales platforms.
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