It pitches, to breaking waves. The announcement of the move of the prestigious Catalan festival from Céret to Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales), a town managed by Louis Aliot (RN) since 2020, made some waves. It was Indochina that opened the ball of protests.
The group, on display on July 8, has indicated that it would purely and simply cancel its concert, if the Déferlantes indeed posed their barnum in the capital of the Pyrénées-Orientales, in front of the Parc des expositions of the city. “We were presented with a fait accompli”, faced with the change of location, scolds the formation, on Twitter. “We expressly ask the management of Les Déferlantes to move this festival to another location, otherwise we will cancel our visit. »
“The management regrets that music and politics are thus associated”, deplores the festival
In a statement, published this weekend on Instagram, the Déferlantes team said that they take note of the position of the band to Nicola Sirkis, noting “with sadness and amazement that the pragmatic choices that have recently been made to change location in order to improve welcoming the public and guaranteeing its safety have given rise to various controversies and violent reactions”. “We remind you that Les Déferlantes is a non-politicized festival whose sole purpose is celebration and sharing (…) The management [des Déferlantes] regret that music and politics are thus associated! “, laments the festival.
If, for the moment, the members of Indochine are the only artists to have reacted to the move of Les Déferlantes, the festival-goers have also expressed their dissatisfaction. And not just for political reasons. “Even without a political choice, the decision to go to Perpignan is really a shame and incomprehensible”, confides one of them, on Instagram. “It’s not just a political question! The venue sucks,” another wrote. “Don’t want to hold a festival on a paved parking lot! “, grumbles a user. “Courage to the organizing team, however tempers another festival-goer. You will tear everything apart. Whatever the place. Because once on the festival site, whether we are close to the vineyards or the sea, all we want is to listen to good sound. »
“Going from a castle in the middle of nature to a parking lot, there is nothing worse”, regrets Lukas, at the origin of a petition
On the Change.org platform, an Internet user even launched a petition, entitled “No to the Déferlantes à Perpignan”. There again, it is not for political questions, but of framework. “Going from a castle in the middle of nature to a car park, there is nothing worse than that! “, laments Lukas, at the origin of the petition, which has almost reached 1,000 signatories.
In a statement to festival-goers, published before the Indochine tweet, the Déferlantes team explained why they had decided to leave Céret, where the concerts took place last summer, in the open countryside, in the middle of the vineyards. It is because of the galleys of travel and parking that the event migrated to Perpignan. “Our teams, as well as local authorities and State services, have done everything possible to find solutions and improve this point for the 2023 edition. Nevertheless, the responses envisaged do not seem to us to correspond to the expectations and the everyone’s safety. This is why we have decided to move Les Déferlantes to a place more suited to your comfort and the ambitions of the festival. A central place, easier to access, offering different means of transport. A place in the heart of the main urban area of the Pyrénées Orientales in which reside more than 50% of our usual festival-goers. »
It is thus on the outskirts of the Parc des expositions de Perpignan, “opposite the Canigou”, that the Déferlantes have set their sights. A site “that regulars will not recognize as our scenography efforts will be increased tenfold”, assured the festival. After this wave of protests, will the Déferlantes take place, as planned, in Perpignan? A press conference is, for the moment, scheduled for January 16, to ratify this choice.