A concert by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and pianist Sir András Schiff under Chief Conductor Lahav Shani at the Philharmonie de Paris last night (6th November) was disrupted by protests from members of the audience.
According to the Cité de la Musique press office, the protesters tried various methods to disrupt the concert, using smoke bombs on two occasions. Clashes ensued when other audience members intervened. Footage circulating on social media shows the orchestra, conductor and soloist on stage while an audience member waved a flare, apprehended by others nearby. The protesters were removed, and four people were arrested by police outside the concert hall, confirmed on X by French Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez. The concert resumed and concluded peacefully. The Philharmonie has confirmed that the protesters were ticket holders.
The Philharmonie de Paris strongly condemned the actions in its statement: “Nothing can justify such actions. Regardless of individual opinions, it is completely unacceptable to threaten the safety of the public, staff, and artists,” it said. The sentiment was echoed by Rachida Dati, France's Minister of Culture, and Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France.
However, Manon Aubry, a Member of the European Parliament for La France Insoumise (LFI), refused to condemn the actions. “Today, the best way to prevent this type of incident from happening again is for the Israeli government to stop massacring an entire people,” she said.
In mid-October, an open letter to the Philharmonie from numerous artists and audience members cited concerns about the concert and called for its cancellation and, in recent days, a petition was organised by the CGT-Spectacle union demanding that the Philharmonie “remind its audience of the extremely serious accusations levelled against the leaders” of Israel. The venue responded on Monday (3rd November), stating that cancelling “would be contrary to the principles of freedom of conscience and expression that we uphold,” and affirming its hope that the concert could take place peacefully, though security measures around it were increased.
Israeli artists have recently been the target of protest around Europe, including the cancellation of Lahav Shani's concert with the Munich Philharmonic at the Flanders Festival in Ghent in September. A day later, Israeli conductor Ilan Volkov made an impassioned speech at the BBC Proms, condemning Israel for its actions in Gaza. Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian supporters have disrupted events at the Royal Opera House in London and at the Salzburg Festival.
Read our concert review by Jean-Pierre Rousseau (in French).
