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French Jewish DJ Barbara Butch was forced off stage at Grenoble’s Cabaret Frappé festival on Saturday after more than 100 protesters hurled objects and shouted antisemitic abuse during her performance.
The crowd pelted her mixing console with gravel, cardboard, plastic objects, liquids, and glass bottles, some shattering near her feet. Organizers escorted Butch from the venue before she could finish performing.
Footage shared by the pro-Israel group Creative Community for Peace showed demonstrators waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Free, free Palestine.”
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Butch and her lawyer wrote in Le Monde, “That evening, a line was crossed: the one separating protest from coercion, disagreement from intimidation, speech from violence. It was no longer a matter of responding to an artist; she was being driven off the stage.”
Critics demanded a boycott of Butch after she backed a bill from French lawmaker Caroline Yadan aimed at addressing contemporary antisemitism. Lawmakers withdrew the measure in April amid criticism it could restrict speech about Israel.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said some members of the far-left La France Insoumise party were among the demonstrators. “Antisemitism, intimidation and pressure have no place in our Republic,” he said. “Preventing an artist from performing is an unacceptable violation of freedom of expression and creation.”
Butch said in a video that the antisemitism she has faced since childhood has intensified in recent years. “I’ve had enough,” she said. “I’m not someone who resorts to violence. I am someone who advocates love, and that won’t change.”
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) said, “We stand in full solidarity with Barbara Butch and condemn this shameful antisemitic attack.”
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CAM Executive Director of European Affairs Shannon Seban called the incident “unacceptable.”
Vous êtes une honte pour la République @allanbrunon : une HONTE. La haine des Juifs, alimentée par un palestinisme exacerbé, fonds de commerce de LFI, est une maladie et un poison.
Interdire à l’artiste Barbara Butch de chanter, comme cela a été le cas hier soir au festival… https://t.co/uTRIq2N7tb
— Shannon Seban (@ShannonSeban) July 19, 2026
Seban was among the attendees at a support rally for Butch held in Paris on Monday.
Nous sommes avec toi Barbara Butch ! 🫶 L’antisémitisme et LFI ne gagneront pas. pic.twitter.com/BiLv6RNPTf
— Shannon Seban (@ShannonSeban) July 20, 2026
Take Action
CAM has launched Report It, a secure app to report antisemitic incidents anonymously and in real time. Don’t stay silent. Download it today on the Apple App Store or Google Play. See it. Report it. Stop it.
