Marseille’s Algerian Music Festival Sparks Political Clash Over Cultural Programming

Catherine Pila does not want Algerian artists in Marseille. She made this known in a press release addressed to the mayor of the city, Benoît Payan, on July 31. The opposition councilor was not pleased with the arrival of the raï singer Kader Japonais, for an evening dedicated to Algerian artists, on July 26 last. "Even as Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune disdains our nation [...] this clumsy and provocative programming choice has offended many Marseille residents," she writes. The vice-president of the Les Républicains party also asks the City of Marseille for the exact cost of these festivities, in detail, as well as the precise amounts received by the various artists.

The response from the Marseille city hall did not take long. "The choices of Kader Japonais and Babylone are neither ’clumsy’ nor provocative: they brought together 45,000 Marseille residents from all backgrounds, to sing, dance and celebrate Marseille," retorted Samia Ghali (various left), deputy mayor of Marseille, in a letter. The elected official was keen to recall "that before being Arab or Algerian, these artists are first and foremost international stars".