Calls for cancellation went unheeded. Sunday August 6, the French rapper Lomepal performed on the stage of the Electronic Beaches festival, in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes), a few days after the revelation of the existence of an investigation for rape against him.
Lomepal, Antoine Valentinelli of his real name, performed for the first time in public since the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed Thursday that a rape investigation was opened for facts which would have occurred in 2017. He had denied a few hours more rape charges later. During his performance in Cannes, hardly disturbed by the boos of a dozen feminists, the singer, black cap screwed on his head and T-shirt of the same color, made no allusion to his legal situation.
Several thousand people, with a largely female audience, cheered him on his arrival and followed his performance, which lasted more than an hour, dancing on the beach where the stage of this festival is located. electro music.
The Family Planning 06 association (Alpes-Maritimes) and the We all collective, present in the aisles of the festival in a “Safe” space, had tried to have the Lomepal concert canceled, without success. “We asked for his deprogramming because his presence contributes to the culture of rape which minimizes sexual violence,” explained Camille Privat, prevention facilitator at Family Planning. “We hear the festival’s inability to deprogram it, but faced with these contract problems, we would like that to change so that it does not happen again,” added the young woman.
With a dozen other activists, they tried, at the start of the concert, to make their voices heard by booing the singer. They had covered their arms and legs with accusatory messages: “And the presumption of guilt? or “Angry women, Lomepal on stage”.
In a press release published on Saturday, the organizers of the festival had declared, faced with the will of the artist and his management to maintain his performance, wanting to “honor their contractual commitments”.
“I like his songs, I came for the music and I give him the benefit of the doubt while waiting for the decision of justice,” said Juliette, 26, preferring to remain anonymous. “Between the man and the artist, I make an incredible difference, otherwise I won’t listen to Gainsbourg”, also estimated Marie Leray, 30, a specialized educator. “He must benefit from the presumption of innocence, but if the justice system finds that there has been a problem, we will have to be careful,” said Thomas Diop, a 30-year-old audiologist.