Charleville-Mézières: Nawell Madani’s show takes a turn for the worse

Instead of opening at 6:30 pm, the Guinguette Arena opened its doors at 8:30 pm for Nawell Madani’s show. This delay angered the many spectators who had come to support the Moroccan-born comedian. "We’re not informed, we’re frozen!" fumed a spectator quoted by L’Ardennais. After spending more than two hours in the cold (-2°C) waiting for the venue to open, some decided to go home, while others preferred to take refuge in their cars. People with reduced mobility and pregnant women were left to fend for themselves.

The spectators did not fail to express their exasperation at the start of the show, at 9:10 pm, booing Nawell Madani when she asked them "How are you?". The reasons for the delay were mentioned during the first part of the evening, performed by Rhym Dousty: the lighting engineer was seriously injured in the shoulder after being hit by a bar, requiring the intervention of the scientific police. Following this incident, the team considered cancelling the show. "But when we saw the crowd outside, Nawell said we couldn’t cancel," the comedian explained, who ultimately managed the lighting herself.

In early October, Nawell Madani had faced strong criticism for kicking a six-year-old child who had approached her and her dog to take a photo. On October 30, the comedian posted a photo on her Instagram account showing that she had reconciled with the minor. The image shows the 6-year-old child and other people taking a selfie with the Belgian star.