‘Progressivism’ at Its Peak: France’s Fête de la Musique Turns into Nightmare

"‘Disruptive,’ ‘alternative’ and participatory elements are needed to break the codes of classical culture, according to the organisers."

From The European Conservative

By Hélène de Lauzun, PhD

During the block parties across the country the French experienced violence and an irreconcilable culture clash.

The Fête de la Musique (or Music Day, a music summer street festival), held every year in France on June 21st, has turned over the years into a gigantic demonstration of the social anarchy into which France is sinking with determination. The 2025 edition was exceptionally anomic, marked by violence, syringe attacks and deviant behaviour—a far cry from the ‘feast for all’ touted by its left-wing promoters.

The initiative  dates back to 1982 and Minister of Culture Jack Lang, under the Socialist presidency of François Mitterrand. Held at the start of summer, the festival was intended to be popular and accessible, bringing together street concerts and spontaneous initiatives to counteract the often elitist image of music performed in prestigious concert halls.

In 2025, Music Day celebrated its 43rd anniversary. On Saturday, June 21st, improvised concerts were scheduled to take place throughout the night in towns and cities across France. In Paris, the Fête de la Musique traditionally begins the night before, with an evening event at the residence of the President of the Republic, the Élysée Palace. Since Emmanuel Macron took office, this evening has become a showcase of vulgarity and bad taste.

In Paris, as in many provincial towns, the event quickly degenerated into an unspeakable mess. While mountains of rubbish piled up in the streets, violent behaviour was observed almost everywhere: cars were burned, shops looted, and sexual assaults took place. In Paris, there was even an attempted murder of a minor. 107 people were taken into custody in Paris alone, out of a total of 371 nationwide.

A new phenomenon has also emerged this year: attacks with syringes. In the days before the festival, calls were made on social media to stab young girls with syringes. In Paris, Sens, Rennes, Metz and Caen, dozens of young girls had to be treated by firefighters and taken to hospital for toxicological tests. The aim of these attacks was to inject substances such as Rohypnol or GHB in order to render the girls unconscious and abuse them. Most of the victims are minors.

There is nothing particularly surprising about this situation. Since its inception, the Fête de la Musique has been conceived as a demonstration of the triumph of cultural progressivism. ‘Disruptive,’ ‘alternative’ and participatory elements are needed to break the codes of classical culture, according to the organisers. The event therefore has all the appearances of a form of cultural revolution in its intention. Today, this translates into a flood of people taking to the streets to challenge public order and authority under the pretext of coming to listen to ‘popular’ music—according to the Left’s own definition of ‘popular.’ These are, of course, the same people we saw rioting on the night of PSG’s Champions League victory.

As Paul Sugy, editorialist at Le Figaro, concluded: Music Day has brought two irreconcilable youth groups face to face. Division of the territory and cultural separatism are no longer a fantasy; on Saturday evening, they were a reality that was plain for all to see.