Paris performance of Israeli orchestra disrupted by flares and fist fights

Four detained as protesters clash with audience members during controversial concert

A concert by Israel's Philharmonic Orchestra in Paris was disrupted by protesters carrying flares, with the incident sparking fist fights with members of the audience.

The Paris Philharmonic concert hall on Friday said it filed a complaint against the demonstrators. Four people have been detained.

"On three occasions, ticket holders attempted to disrupt the concert in various ways, including twice using smoke bombs. Spectators intervened and clashes ensued," the concert hall said in a statement. "Troublemakers were removed and the concert, which had been interrupted, resumed and ended peacefully."

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said he "firmly condemned" the incident.

There had been growing tension before the concert between the venue and one of France's biggest trade unions, the General Confederation of Labour. In a statement last month, the union asked the concert hall to inform the public about Israel's alleged war crimes in Gaza.

It referred to "the genocide against the Palestinian people, and the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and [former defence minister] Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity".

The venue refused. "We never require artists and invited groups to take a position on ongoing conflicts or sensitive political issues, which could sometimes have significant repercussions for them in their country of origin," it said this week.

Left-wing French politicians have called for a boycott of Israeli artists in the same way Russian performers have been shunned on the continent since the war on Ukraine began in 2022. That year, Munich Philharmonic ousted its conductor, Russia’s Valery Gergiev, over his continued support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Were you shocked when Russia was excluded from Eurovision? Everyone else thought it was normal. Similarly, Russia commits war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine," European Parliament member Manon Aubry told CNews on Friday.

Critics have argued that, while Ukraine is a sovereign state that was invaded by Russia, Israel was attacked by non-state groups on October 7, 2023, leading to the war on Gaza.

Director of the Israel orchestra, Lahav Shani, was at the heart of a controversy in September in Belgium, when the Flanders Festival in Ghent cancelled his concert. It said he had not "unequivocally" distanced himself from the Israeli government.

The move was criticised at the time by Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who later travelled to the German city of Essen to attend another concert by Mr Shani. He is set to become chief conductor at the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra in September next year.

In a statement in September, Mr Shani said it was "regrettable" that the festival demanded that he make a political declaration despite his "long-standing and publicly expressed commitment to peace and reconciliation".

"The images and testimonies coming out of Gaza are deeply distressing and it is impossible to remain indifferent to the suffering of civilians in Gaza amid the catastrophe this war has brought upon them," he added.