“It’s art that we’re stifling! » This is essentially what many Internet users have denounced while watching a video that has gone viral in recent days. On this one, we see a pianist playing in an SNCF station. A young woman comes to ask him if he knows the score of “The Crowd” by Edith Piaf. The musician does so and sees the young girl transform into a ballerina and draw arabesques on the notes of the piano.
A moment of grace that attracts travelers, pausing their journey for a few seconds to enjoy the spectacle. But at the end of the video, the artists are interrupted by security agents who come to speak to them. Just before cutting, the video displays a message in English which suggests that the pianist and the dancer were almost arrested for their performance… Which aroused the wrath of many Internet users.
What happened ?
The video was posted this Sunday April 7 by the pianist himself, Aurélien Froissard. A star of social networks, he has nearly 3 million Instagram followers and is a regular at staging events around station pianos.
According to SNCF Gares & Connexions, joined by 20 minutesit was a performance organized by the artists (and not improvised as the staging might suggest) which was carried out about two months ago at the Gare de Lyon.
“They waited for the song to end”
Service organized but not declared, as confirmed by an SNCF spokesperson. This is the reason for the intervention of security agents, not security agents, but employees of a service provider: “They simply came to remind us of the rule of occupying the piano space. And besides, the exchange was very courteous and cordial, we see it in the video, they waited for the end of the song and did not advance like brutes, they arrived with velvet steps. »
Cordiality confirmed by Aurélien Froissard at the microphone of BFM TV this Tuesday morning, ensuring that the agents had offered the dancer to resume her performance. “Everyone can play the piano at the station,” explains the SNCF spokesperson, “but their performance created a crowd, and it’s a place where a lot of travelers meet, there are trains, we have to ensure that certain rules are respected. »
The SNCF also reminds that its spaces are not “open stages”, therefore its agents, or the service providers must ensure that no hats are turned and that there is no abuse or forced privatization. from space.
Beyond these rules to remember, the SNCF spokesperson highlights the laudable intention of the security agents, but also, and above all, the great performance of the artists: “They offered a great moment to the travelers, it’s also why there are pianos in our stations. »
Contacted by us, Aurélien Froissard has, for the moment, not responded to our requests.