Amir concert cancelled in Marseille on security grounds after pro-Palestinian boycott calls

Key details of the cancellation

Organisers of the Sunset Live series announced on Thursday 23 July that a free concert headlined by the Franco-Israeli singer Amir would not go ahead as planned on Sunday 26 July. The event, the fourth edition of the summer series on the roof of the Les Terrasses du Port shopping centre in central Marseille, was also set to feature Adèle Castillon, Peter Cincotti and Oria. In a statement posted on the event's social media accounts and the centre's Facebook page, management wrote:

For safety reasons, the Sunset Live session scheduled for Sunday 26 July at Les Terrasses du Port is cancelled. This decision aims to guarantee the safety of the artists, the public, our teams and all persons present on the site. We regret this cancellation.

Organisers told Frequence-sud they wanted to avoid any political controversy at what was intended as a family-friendly late-afternoon event. A separate concert by Amir scheduled for the previous evening in Rognac, also in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, remained on the calendar but under heightened surveillance, Le Figaro reported.

Boycott campaign and accusations

Several pro-Palestinian groups had spent days calling for the concert's cancellation before the decision was announced. The collective Union Palestine Marseille posted on Facebook that it refused Amir's presence because "this artist has positioned himself as a fervent defender of the Israeli army and policy." The Bouches-du-Rhône branch of the Association France Palestine Solidarité also called for a boycott, citing his participation in events held in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and public statements that, according to the group, obscure the reality faced by Palestinian populations. A rally had also been announced at the concert venue.

Le Parisien noted that similar campaigns had disrupted or blocked several of the singer's appearances the previous year, including at the Francofolies de Spa festival in July 2025, where ten artists protested his inclusion over his public stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The 20minutes report added that the boycott calls framed the artist as repeatedly defending Israeli military and political positions.

Reactions to the cancellation

Union Palestine Marseille celebrated the outcome on Instagram, describing it as a "victory of popular mobilisation" and insisting its call "was based on political demands and was part of an exclusively peaceful approach." The group stressed that "at no time did the collectives call for violence" and described its actions as exercising a democratic right to challenge, inform and call for boycott.

The cancellation drew sharp criticism from anti-racism organisations. Crif Marseille Provence expressed "deep concern," arguing that "under the pretext of freedom of expression and supposedly peaceful boycott, these organisations are gradually imposing their law on cultural life." The Ligue internationale contre le racisme et l'antisémitisme (Licra) also reacted with indignation, urging authorities to "give no ground." The national Crif had already denounced on Monday what it called a "hunt for Jewish artists or those committed against anti-Semitism" after pro-Palestinian activists interrupted a Grenoble concert by DJ Barbara Butch, and had appealed to the Ministry of Culture.

Le Figaro listed Joann Sfar and Lahav Shani among other artists recently targeted, framing the Amir episode as the latest in a widening pattern of actions against performers linked to Israel or outspoken on anti-Semitism.