Paris Suburb Pulls €40,000 Rock-en-Seine Grant Over Kneecap Booking

The municipal council of Saint-Cloud, a suburb west of Paris, has withdrawn a €40,000 ($46,000) subsidy pledged to the Rock-en-Seine music festival after organisers booked Belfast rap trio Kneecap for this year’s edition, scheduled for 21–24 August. In a statement dated 3 July and released late Wednesday, the town hall said it "does not finance political action, nor demands, and even less calls to violence", adding that the grant had been approved before the festival’s final line-up was confirmed. It said it would not attempt to pressure organisers to cancel the act. Kneecap, which performs in Irish and English, has faced criticism for displaying pro-Palestinian messages on stage. Group member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, known as Mo Chara, was charged in Britain in May with a terrorism offence for allegedly showing a Hezbollah flag, an allegation he denies. Festival organisers have not commented on Saint-Cloud’s decision.