Kneecap defy critics with 'Free Palestine' chant at Paris gig

Irish rap group Kneecap repeated their criticism of Israel's war on Gaza during a performance outside Paris on Sunday after festival organisers resisted pressure from French Jewish groups and government officials to remove them from the lineup.

The concert, which began shortly before 6.30 pm (1630 GMT) in front of several thousand people in the Paris suburb of Saint-Cloud.

"Free, free Palestine!," the group shouted at the start of their show, rallying an enthusiastic crowd where keffiyehs and Irish jerseys were visible, before insisting they were not against Israel.

Ahead of the show, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the authorities would be vigilant for "any comments of an antisemitic nature, apology for terrorism or incitement to hatred" at the event.

During their performance, the band displayed a backdrop in French that said: "The French government is complicit", accusing it of facilitating the sale of weapons to Israel. They posted a photo of the message on social media.

The performance was briefly interrupted as several individuals whistled in protest, until security removed protesters from the crowd.

After organisers kept the politically outspoken band on the programme, local authorities withdrew their subsidies for the music festival where the gig took place - the annual Rock en Seine festival.

The group from Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, have made a habit of using their concerts to canvas for the Palestinian cause and criticise Israel.

Politically outspoken

Liam O'Hanna, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was earlier this year charged with terror offences by British authorities for displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert in November.

They played a closely scrutinised concert at the Glastonbury Festival in June, where Chara declared: "Israel are war criminals."

The group later missed playing at the Sziget Festival in Budapest after being barred from entering the country by the Hungarian authorities, a close ally of Israel.

Ahead of the performance, the municipality of Saint-Cloud for the first time withdrew its 40,000-euro ($47,000) subsidy from Rock en Seine.

The wider Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris, also cancelled its funding for the 2025 edition.

However, such moves do not jeopardise the viability of the festival, whose budget was between 16 million and 17 million euros this year.

The group has already played twice in France this summer -- at the Eurockeennes festival in Belfort and the Cabaret Vert in Charleville-Mezieres -- both times without incident.

(AFP and TNA staff)