2023-09-04 10:25:00
“We only want to start over. The observation seems generally shared by the organizers and the public. On September 1 and 2, the Chamarande estate brought together 20,000 people for the 4th edition of the RTL2 Essonne en scène festival, two sold-out evenings since tickets were sold out long before the event.
Figures never before reached for this cultural event in the outer suburbs set up in 2019 by the Essonne departmental council, the Francofolies de La Rochelle and Morgan Events, reinforced since 2023 by the “pop-rock” radio RTL2. The station and its 15 million monthly listeners brought a new breath, as well as a more muscular program, notably Matthieu Chedid, Juliette Armanet or Shaka Ponk, which closed the festival in an incandescent atmosphere.
Chamarande, September 2, 2023. The group Shaka Ponk gave a fiery concert at the RTL2 Essonne festival on stage, where it had already performed in 2019. LP / Nolwenn Cosson
On the strength of this “success”, the organizers are already announcing it: “We will continue to grow, and there will be a 2024 edition with even greater scope and always on the first weekend of September, in order to offer an enchanting parenthesis before the start of the school year,” smiles Tristan Jurgensen, CEO of RTL2. The gauge of 12,000 festival-goers per evening might be targeted.
Increase parking capacity
“This year, the Friday evening ticket office was complete in ten days, recalls François Durovray, the president (LR) of the departmental council. And the Saturday evening was also sold out several days before the festival. We might have put seats back on sale, but we chose not to because we weren’t yet mature enough to increase the capacity, especially in terms of parking. Our challenge for 2024 and the other editions is to increase our parking capacity and accessibility. »
Several festival-goers have raised difficulties. Like Isabelle, a resident of Limours who came with a friend from Janvry to applaud Matthieu Chedid. “They insisted that we come by public transport, so we left our car in Étréchy, testifies the forties. When you live in Essonne, it’s complicated not to take your vehicle at all. On the way out, everything went well, the Chamarande train station is two minutes from the estate. »
But the return was tough. “They had announced additional RER in the evening, but it was for people going back to Paris, continues Isabelle. In the other direction, there was no train due to summer works. Substitute buses were stuck in traffic jams. While we had bothered to leave around 11:30 p.m., before the end of M’s concert, we only got on the bus at 1 a.m. »
Nearer residents were not necessarily better off. Laëtitia, who came from Lardy, did not even want to try to come by car. “While we are almost residents, we do not benefit from any advantages and on the other hand we suffer from the disadvantages. The inhabitants of Chamarande have free tickets and parking permits, but nothing for the surrounding municipalities, there is not even a pricing for Essonnians, ”she regrets.
No 2nd stage or screen for the next editions
A resident of Chamarande prefers to retain the positive: “There are some nuisances but we cannot complain and at the same time complain that nothing ever happens outside of Paris. Others even believe that “the organization has improved” and many praise the artistic performances. For Marisa, Julie and Charles, three friends in their thirties who are regulars at the festival, there is only one downside: “We expect quite a bit at the bar. »
The supply stands have however been multiplied and scattered on both sides of the stage, as have the fifteen catering points. “It was good and the prices reasonable. They have greatly expanded the offer compared to the first edition,” assure Erwan and Nathan, in their twenties.
Chamarande, September 2, 2023. The bar stands were taken by storm, but the festival-goers were not too offended by waiting several minutes to leave with their beer. LP/C.CH.
“We want to go even further, we can build a big festival, hopes Régis Ravanas, general manager of audio activities for the M 6 group (including radio stations RTL, RTL2 and Fun Radio). We have the objective of filling the other side of the castle. With a second scene? “No, Gérard Pont, the president of the Francofolies, immediately decides. At Woodstock, there weren’t two scenes. I like the idea that all the artists, the headliners and the local talents, play in the same place. Ditto for a big screen, which some spectators are asking for. “I don’t see the point,” says Gérard Pont.
The programming, voluntarily “French pop”, might be extended to foreign artists. “We have some great tracks, there are openings, we have plenty of things to explore, promises Gérard Pont. It takes regarding five years to stabilize a festival, and from the 4th edition we are sold out. You don’t have to have your eyes bigger than your stomach, move forward little by little and be happy with what you have already achieved. »
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