Périgueux allows hall rental for controversial banquet – Mayor cites duty of neutrality

Périgueux – 02.07.2026: The city of Périgueux is providing a municipal event hall to the association “Le Canon français”. The mayor and city administration said the request was formally in order and that, under current law, there is no sufficient reason to prohibit the rental. A ban would only be considered if a concrete danger to public order could be plausibly demonstrated. The municipality referred to the duty of neutrality and equal treatment when allocating public spaces.

The decision immediately met with resistance. Left-wing parties and local initiatives criticize that the city is giving space to a format that polarizes politically and has been associated with problematic incidents in the past. They point to the association’s financing by businessman Pierre-Édouard Stérin as well as to controversies at previous banquets. According to media reports, racist remarks and gestures were documented at a large event in Caen in April 2026; the public prosecutor’s office in Caen has opened an investigation. In Périgueux, the critics are calling for demonstrations. Police and the prefecture are monitoring the situation; no major incidents are known so far.

Legally the city is walking a fine line. French municipalities may not arbitrarily refuse public spaces as a general rule. Interventions are usually only permissible in the case of concrete foreseeable disturbances to public order or when judicial orders exist. According to the city, no such findings are currently available. Opponents of the rental are considering legal steps; corresponding applications were not registered at the administrative courts by the afternoon. A short-term injunction based on preventive public-safety measures would be possible.

The issue has meanwhile attracted attention beyond the region. At the national level there is debate about how far municipalities may go with politically charged events and what criteria apply for danger assessments. Representatives of the security authorities emphasize vigilant monitoring while investigations related to previous events are ongoing. At the same time municipal lawyers point out that restrictive decisions must withstand judicial review and therefore should be carefully justified.

For Périgueux the dispute is a stress test: the city administration must balance legal equal treatment, protection against potential disturbances and significant political pressure. Should new findings from the investigative authorities emerge or a court decide otherwise, the rental could be reassessed at short notice. Until then the hall remains reserved, and the security authorities say they are preparing a presence adapted to the situation.