Following the French elections, 500 French Classical Musical personalities signed a manifesto against the far right that won the first round of the National Assembly elections.

Published in Télérama, the artists said, “Faced with the historical situation of our country following the dissolution of the National Assembly by Emmanuel Macron on June 9, we, artisans and actors in the world of classical music, would like to express our deep concern at the risk of seeing access in power the National Rally, a party whose ideology is built on hatred of difference, rejection of foreigners and fear of the diversity of cultures. His project is incompatible with what we defend in our artistic professions: the encounter with others in their differences, whatever their religion, their skin color, their nationality…”

The declaration added, “France is the country of human rights. Seeing this called into question in the name of a ‘national preference,’ with what this implies of inhumane exclusions, is intolerable. Throughout time, our music has been enriched by cultures from elsewhere, across borders and eras, giving birth to great artistic movements, as well as works that are now part of our common heritage. We cannot accept this narrowing of thought that the victory of racist, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic ideas would bring about in our country. This fear of the ‘immigrant,’ this fantasy of a ‘great replacement’ which would threaten our identity goes against everything we advocate: solidarity between peoples and equal human dignity.”

Among the artists who signed the manifesto include Natalie Dessay, Sabine Devieilhe, Sandrine Piau, Mireille Delunsch, Emmanuelle de Negri, Julie Fuchs, Alain Altinoglu, Emmanuelle Haïm, Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Olivier Py, and Stéphane Degout.