Launch of the Solidays festival in Paris against the backdrop of the end of the electoral campaign

If some people thought they would take a break from political news by spending the weekend at Solidays, they might be disappointed. “The day after tomorrow, we prevent the RN from coming to power, we will all vote for the New Popular Front”says rap rock singer Simia on the César Circus stage during the festival’s opening night. The iconic event in the fight against AIDS opened its 26th edition on Friday^e edition in a particularly tense political context. On the eve of the first round of legislative elections, the organizers and participants are openly mobilizing against the National Rally.

Beyond the music and awareness-raising activities, the festival held at the Longchamp racecourse is transformed into a veritable platform for the New Popular Front. Around 8pm, as Santa, the new voice of French song, is about to go on stage, a representative of the feminist activist association Ma Voix, Mon choix spoke to the audience, whose average age is around twenty: “More than 20 million people in the EU do not have access to abortion, they are exposed to health, economic and psychological risks, especially those already in precarious situations.”

After inviting the public to share a moment of exchange at the “solidarity village”, the young woman called the festival-goers “to face the danger of the extreme right and to vote on Sunday”. The crowd responded favorably with cheers. A few minutes later, the performer of Salted popcorn This time he delivered a one-hour show out of time, standing on the piano, guitar in hand. The audience exults.

Messages

At 9:30 p.m., a large number of festival-goers crossed the site to join the “Paris” stage where British pop singer Sam Smith was performing. Accompanied by his troupe of dancers, the queer artist changed outfits one after the other until he donned an imposing dress in the colors of the LGBT flag. A few steps from the stage, the Solidays “solidarity village” brings together nearly a hundred associations working in the areas of mental and sexual health, the fight against exclusion and discrimination, and civic engagement. Among these associations, a large number have recently shown their support for the New Popular Front. This is the case of the Human Rights League, which supports the alliance and calls for “combat” the RN, characterizing its ideology of “racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic. Hate speech spilled completely illegally.”

The NGO Singa, which fights for the integration of refugees led by Benoît Hamon, also had its place in the “solidarity village”. The former socialist presidential candidate in 2017 also positioned himself in favor of the New Popular Front.

Luc Barruet, director and founder of Solidays, believes that if the National Rally comes to power, “things are likely to be much more complicated, that’s obvious,” reports France Info“We must mobilize, we must go and vote, we must stick together and believe in the future.”

On its X account, the Solidays festival also published a message inviting those present on Sunday, the day of the first round of the legislative elections, to “take [leur] disposition» to place their ballot in the ballot box. The long wait before the concert of rappers Tiakola and Gazo, due to a technical problem, served as a reminder. While the director projects images of people in the crowd onto the giant screens, some take the opportunity to convey a few messages. Thanks to their phone, many have fun writing them in large letters visible on the screen. Between jokes and declarations of love, the injunctions to block the National Gathering are numerous. Posts mentioning Jordan Bardella are offensive. But when the two French rap phenomena arrived on stage, the spirits were full of celebration. The surprise visit of the singer Angèle, announcing a new song between the three singers, completed the delight of the public.