Overview
- The Grand Est regional council provisionally halted funding for the Jardin du Michel festival after it announced the rap group Sniper on the lineup.
- Officials formally asked the Interior Ministry to assess whether certain lyrics could constitute incitement to racial hatred, antisemitism, or a public-order risk.
- The regional majority framed the decision under a required charter of republican principles, stating public money should not support content contrary to those values.
- RN deputy and regional councilor Laurent Jacobelli welcomed the suspension, while critics characterized the move as censorship targeting the group’s past lyrics.
- Sniper were cleared in earlier cases, with a 2005 appeals court acquittal and a 2007 Cour de cassation ruling, and the current action involves no new judicial finding; the cut is reported as roughly 7% of the festival’s budget.