Culture Minister Guarantees Barbara Butch Protection Ahead of Yonne Performance

Paris – 22.07.2026: Culture Minister Catherine Pégard met DJ and producer Barbara Butch on Wednesday and assured her of protection for her artistic work and personal safety. The Ministry of Culture stated that Pégard is monitoring the situation closely. The meeting follows the interruption of the artist’s performance on 18 July at the Cabaret Frappé festival in Grenoble.

Barbara Butch is scheduled to perform on Saturday, 25.07.2026, at 10 p.m. at the Le Hameau festival in Saint-Martin-du-Tertre, in the Yonne department. According to the local tourism organisation, the event is planned as the closing night of the festival weekend. According to her entourage, it will be the 45-year-old artist’s final scheduled summer performance.

In Grenoble, the concert was stopped after around twenty minutes. The city justified the decision on the grounds of the safety of the audience, staff and artist. According to media reports, pro-Palestinian demonstrators disrupted the performance with chants, whistles and the throwing of objects. The incident is linked to a previously circulated call to boycott Barbara Butch.

The Grenoble public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation on 21.07.2026 on suspicion of concerted obstruction of freedoms. The investigation is being conducted by the local criminal police. The city of Grenoble also announced that it would file a complaint against persons unknown; according to media reports, Deputy Mayor for Culture Alexis Monge also filed a complaint over intimidation and the throwing of objects.

The protest was directed in part against Barbara Butch’s support for a now-withdrawn legislative proposal targeting new forms of antisemitism. The artist stated that her signature was intended to support the fight against antisemitism. At the same time, she opposed equating Jewish people with the policies of the Israeli government.

Mathilde Panot, chair of the La France insoumise group in the National Assembly, described a leaflet circulated by activists as misguided and condemned insults and the throwing of objects. She rejected accusations of antisemitism within her party. Political responsibility for the escalation therefore remains disputed, while the legal classification of the case lies with the investigating authorities.

For Saint-Martin-du-Tertre, Fabrice Paris, president of the organising Le Hameau association, announced that security measures would be strengthened in coordination with the prefecture. The local La France insoumise organisation had assured him that it was only calling for a boycott and did not support any physical action against the artist. The performance is currently expected to go ahead.