During a performance by the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra at the prestigious Philharmonic Hall in Paris on Thursday night, “pro-Palestine” protesters attempted to firebomb the concert.
During the first half of the performance, dozens of protesters broke into the packed hall, chanted anti-Israel slogans and lit flares, filling the hal with smoke. The flare set nearby seats ablaze, forcing firefighters to rush in. Despite the smoke and confusion, the orchestra continued playing Beethoven’s Fifth Concerto under the baton of András Schiff. Security personnel took positions to protect the musicians.
The first half of the performance ended with a Chopin waltz, earning a defiant standing ovation from the audience.
A post published by the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University read: “Pro-Palestinian protesters firebombed a concert and the musicians were removed from the stage. After the matter was resolved, they were brought back on stage to the sound of applause and cheers from the audience. Times are not easy. A big hug from us here.”
In footage posted on social media, dozens of rioters were seen waving Palestinian flags in the hall, as security personnel tried to keep them away.
After several minutes of chaos, the musicians returned to the stage and continued their performance, accompanied by enthusiastic cheers from the French audience.
The firebombing was foreshadowed in a statement released by Confédération Générale du Travail, the union representing workers in France’s entertainment sector, on October 29.
“The Paris Philharmonic Hall cannot host the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra without reminding the public of the extremely serious accusations weighing on the leaders of that country (Israel) or the nature of the crime committed in Gaza,” the union said.
It added that it viewed the concert as an attempt to bring about the “normalization” of Israel in international settings.
The Paris Philharmonic Hall responded by issuing a statement saying it hoped the Israeli concert would take place “in the best possible conditions.”
It noted that it never demanded visiting musicians to “take a position… on the issue of ongoing conflicts or on sensitive political stakes.”
The incident stands in sharp contrast to the greeting the Israeli musicians received on Wednesday from French Culture Minister Rachida Dati.
“Welcome to Israel’s national orchestra,” Dati writes on X.
“Nothing justifies a boycott call for this moment of culture, sharing, and communication. Freedom of creation and programming is a value of our republic. (There is) no pretext for antisemitism,” she said.
