French Music Seen From Abroad December 2005

Rebels with a cause

Paris 

02/01/2006 - 

France is in crisis, and protest is back in the spotlight. French rap is in the news and alternative rock is making a comeback,  while Yannick Noah and Jane Birkin preach unity and solidarity.

Does rap make people violent? In the aftermath of the riots which shook the French suburbs for three weeks, the subject resurfaced in the media, prompted by the rather opportunistic initiative of centre-right MP François Grosdidier, who, along with "200 politicians backed a petition calling for legal action against several hip hop musicians for their aggressive lyrics." Nonetheless, notes the UK’s Telegraph (8/12), "for more than a decade, French rap has been the voice of the banlieues, the poor suburbs, and it has long been full of warnings of violence to come in those areas," which are afflicted with mass unemployment, racism, crime and dilapidated housing.

This attempted return to censorship has led the international media to focus on French independent rap. Often aggressive and provocative, it is not well covered by the mainstream media although it is extremely popular among the young growing up in the suburbs, thanks to artists like Sniper, Rohff or Sinik. Mostly unknown outside French-speaking countries, French rappers are only now starting to attract the attention of the international media. "It was not easy to arrange an interview" with Monsieur R, says Israel’s Haaretz (9/12), which featured a big spread on "power of words". "It is only 10 A.M., but the meeting with Haaretz is already the second interview of the morning, and he has a long media day ahead of him: the weekly Le Nouvel Observateur, Channel 3, the parliament channel, the BBC and a newspaper from Denmark…" No, rap is "not the cause of the French riots", opines the BBC (25/11). Rapper Monsieur R agrees. Criticised by the anti-rap MPs for his track La FranSSe, he counter-attacks: "Hip hop is a crude art, so we use crude words. It is not a call to violence.”

Manu Chao in Argentina

The French are a contrary lot, as is amply demonstrated by Manu Chao, who is pursuing his anti-Bush crusade in concerts across South America. "The world’s a disgusting place," he tells La Republica (Peru, 14/11). "Apart from a few happy moments shared with friends, everything is so cruel.” The singer comes over as rather depressed, but he sees music as his “escape route”, and the flame of rebellion still burns. "The French singer/songwriter was seen in demonstrations against George Bush in Mar del Plata", in Argentina. On stage, the clandestino goes wild as he always does, only this time it seems things got just as wild outside the concert hall!

"Violence outside Manu Chao concert" in Rosario, ran the headline of Argentine daily La Capital (13/11). And this time, rappers had nothing to do with it. The "chaotic organisation” of the concert gets the blame. "The concert was officially supposed to start at ten in the evening, but for some unknown reason, the group started playing ten minutes before, causing anger among people who were still queuing to get in. The security officers were only letting people in two by two, so it was very slow," complained one concert-goer. And when people started to complain, the police got violent.

Beru and Yannick Noah back in the spotlight

The French music scene has eagerly been awaiting the return of legendary 1980s group Bérurier Noir, a sure sign that protest is in the air. Spanish music review Zona Musical (2/12) sees in them “the return of alternative rock – and the days when Manu Negra, the Garçons Bouchers, the Wampas and Ludwig von 88" did the rounds of Parisian squats “giving totally wild concerts.” But far from the fury of political polemic, there are cooler heads who are also militating for change with a message of humanism and communal solidarity, trying to calm down the hotheads. On stage at the Cirque d’Hiver in Brussels, Yannick Noah called for renewed vigilance against racism, reports La Dernière Heure (1/12), and, because “there’s something rotten” in the state of France at the moment, he broke out into a rendition Né quelque part. Later, though, he sang the Marseillaise, before continuing with Saga Africa".

Without making a song and dance about it, Jane Birkin has been defending humanitarian causes for many years now. Her album Arabesque delicately mixes Gainsbourg’s repertoire with Arab music. Her set of the same name "has been touring all over the world," and has just played St Petersburg, since "Birkin wants to end the tour and cease its run in St. Petersburg because it was the city where Gainsbourg’s Russian-born parents were married in 1915," explains the St. Petersburg Times (18/11). Because if music can sometimes be a call to arms, it can also soften the soul....

Gilles  Rio