Heckling and confusion this Thursday, for the great musical event of this Parisian evening. For its 11th editionthe Fnac Live festival celebrated its return until Friday July 1, with three evenings on the forecourt of the City Hall of the capital. But on the second night of the event, the performance of Alpha Wann and Jazzy Bazz, rappers close to the star Nekfeu, was interrupted due to crowd movements. Some of the audience finally left the scene.
On a video where we see the two singers in full performance, we can distinctly hear one of them say “it’s too dangerous, they (The direction) want us to stop”. An announcement followed by boos. According to a witness contacted by Le Parisien, “the situation was confused, the crash barriers gave way”.
Coline, 18, was placed very close to the stage. “From the start of the concert, during Youv Dee’s appearance on stage, there were quickly pogos (a practice of jumping with both feet and bouncing off neighbors with shoulder strikes). It was quite violent, some were crushed, we almost fell and we ended up with scratches on our arms. We were being walked on everywhere, ”she explains.
An artist canceled to be able to resume
The overheated atmosphere only increased “to the point of breaking the security barriers”. At that moment, Coline decided to leave, thinking that the concert would not resume.
“We were full. We needed to check the stage security system as it was growing quite a bit, recognizes the organization of Fnac Live. The public was understanding. We didn’t want to be late and the next artist didn’t play. We resumed the concerts with Thylacine. »
“Spectators pushed forward, in a very festive spirit. A barrier in danger of yielding, the organization preferred to interrupt the concert to reduce the pressure. Which worked as spectators left the scene, freeing up space. All of this was very well managed, ”explains a source close to security. “The enthusiasm was such that the barriers did not hold”, confirms Ariel Weil, the mayor of Paris Center who has not yet been informed of any injuries.
Coline, who came with her boyfriend, assures us that the artists tried to calm the crowd. In vain. “There were too many people during the Alpha Wann concert. This shifted the barriers that closed the site”, abounds a young man who was very close to entering the perimeter.
A little further, this crowd movement had repercussions. The police prohibited any access to the Place de l’Hôtel de Ville from adjacent streets. “We were sitting on the terrace with friends and suddenly the police came to ask us to come home quickly. There was a movement of panic. All the servers asked us to stay in the restaurant until it was safe. The staff were very scared, ”observes Aby, seated on rue Saint-Martin.