AFP, LE NOUVEL OBS (France), LE SOIR (Belgium)
PARIS – Queen of pop – Madonna – was booed at the end of her concert in honor of “tolerant France,” on Thursday night in Paris, French news agency AFP reports. Although she waxed lyrical during the show about the importance of France to international artists, she disapointed her Parisian fans with an extremely short concert.
According to the Belgian newspaper Le Soir, Madonna’s concert at Olympia Hall was announced only one week before and sold out it an hour. Fans rushed to buy one of the 2,000 tickets, at a prices of up to 270 euros. People lined up all day in front of the concert hall – in blistering heat- for a chance to see their idol up close.
Unfortunately for them, the concert lasted less than 45 minutes, including a speech about France and its tradition of welcoming foreign artists on its territory. “Everybody used to come to France to create,” said Madonna, who wore a beret. The American singer has has a standing dispute with French extreme right-wing leader Marine Le Pen. During a concert earlier this month, Madonna showed a video of Marine Le Pen with a swastika on her forehead. The French politician vowed to sue the artist.
The queen of pop ended her show with Serge Gainsbourg’s song “Je t’aime moi non plus,” interpreted in French. She left the stage, never to return. When spectators realized the concert was over, they started calling her names, screaming “shame on you,” and throwing bottles in the air.
“Frustration, disappointment, bitterness, feeling of having been ripped off…” were the words fans used, according to French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur. Some estimated they had paid 6.3 euros per minute of concert. Madonna should remember the French are also good at math.