The pressure was too strong: targeted by investigations for rape, Patrick Bruel decided on Friday May 29 to cancel all his concerts until the fall, including dates in Paris and festivals, and is withdrawing from Les Enfoirés. The singer and actor should therefore not return to the stage to sing before October. His tour, which is due to end in November, was to start with three concerts from June 16 to 18 at the Cirque d’hiver in Paris.
“We remind you that Patrick Bruel is free to practice his profession. The public is free to go to his concerts or not,” underlined 14 Productions, a company managed by Patrick Bruel himself. But for the summer, “several festival organizers have reported experiencing pressure and being prevented from calmly organizing their events,” reported the production company, which wishes “in no way to expose either the organizers or the public to a climate of tension.”
A dozen concerts are affected by these cancellations: one in Switzerland, one in Belgium and the others in France, according to the dates listed on the artist’s official website.
In the legal and media turmoil, the 67-year-old artist also chose to step aside from the upcoming charity shows of the Enfoirés, of which he had not missed any edition since 1993. He had even co-written the annual anthem in 2024. This voluntary withdrawal was decided “so as not to embarrass the association of Restos du coeur and the Enfoirés”, declared Friday Anne Marcassus, artistic director of the project.
“I hope to find you again when justice has proven my innocence,” wrote Patrick Bruel in a message to the other members, revealed by RTL. Presumed innocent, he is currently the target of at least four investigations for rape in France and a judicial investigation for sexual assault in Belgium. He disputes all of the facts with which he is accused. “I have never forced a woman,” he insisted.
Among those accusing him of sexual violence include a masseuse, a former press officer, and even TV host Flavie Flament, who claims to have been raped in 1991, when she was 16 years old.
Pressures
The tide had turned in recent days on his concerts. On Tuesday, a festival in Friborg in Switzerland removed him from its programming: the organizers explained that they were “postponing” his performance until further notice, “in order to give justice time to establish the facts”.
Three dates planned for December were canceled in Quebec, for similar reasons. These concerts removed from the calendar were to be part of his tour, designed to celebrate his hits, especially those from the album “So look”. This second opus, released in 1989, represented the greatest success of his career, with some three million copies sold, and gave birth to “Bruelmania”.
In the eyes of feminist associations, and several mayors of cities where he was or will be performing, Patrick Bruel must give up going on stage until the investigations are completed. After a petition demanding the cancellation of his tour – signed by more than 47,000 people – the pressure increased a notch on Wednesday evening.
A performance of the play “Second Part”, in which he plays in Paris, was interrupted for several minutes by activists from the feminist collective Nous Tous à Paris. “Bruel!” Rapist! », They chanted, masks bearing the image of the star on their heads, before being evacuated by security.
In a press release, Nous Tous estimated that by keeping it scheduled, the theaters were “endangering all women who come into close or distant contact with an alleged attacker”.
In practice, canceling a concert remains regulated: the city councilors have few legal means and the venues are linked by contract to the producer of the tour… Who is none other than Bruel himself, via his company 14 Productions. As for the prefectures, they only issue a ban order in the event of a risk of disturbing public order.
