the Minister of Culture “very concerned” by the “threats” to the singer

The Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, said to herself on Wednesday April 5, at the microphone of France Inter, “very concerned” by “threats, attacks” suffered by the singer Bilal Hassani. “These attacks against Bilal Hassani are neither more nor less homophobic attacks, transphobic attacks. It is the hatred of everything that comes close to the queer universe”she said.

The concert of Bilal Hassani, claimed flag bearer of the LGBT community, scheduled for Wednesday evening in an old church in Metz, was canceled after a controversy within local Catholic and traditionalist movements and local “formulated threats” against him and “His public”said the company Live Nation, which produces the tour of the artist.

“We must continue tirelessly to defend in our country, the freedom of creation, the freedom of expression against all fundamentalisms, against all extremisms”

Rima Abdul Malak, Minister of Culture

at the microphone of France Inter

“He has been harassed on social networks for several years now. What are we talking about in Metz? This basilica [où le concert devait avoir lieu] is no longer a church, it has been desecrated for more than 500 years. Already in 1556 it had become a military warehouse until the XXᵉ century and it became a cultural space that hosts concerts. So already, we are not talking about a church in the religious sense of the term”recalls Rima Abdul Malak.