Four arrested after protests disrupt Israeli philharmonic concert in Paris

French police arrested four people on Thursday evening after protests broke out during a performance by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the Philharmonie de Paris, the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on Friday.

The incident occurred amid heightened tensions surrounding the event, which had drawn calls for cancellation from pro-Palestinian activists. The CGT-Spectacle union, representing workers in France’s entertainment industry, urged the orchestra to “remind its audience of the extremely serious accusations against Israeli leaders,” in reference to the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Authorities had reinforced security measures around the venue ahead of the concert. Despite these precautions, videos circulating on social media showed a protester igniting a flare inside the concert hall. Audience members were seen attempting to put it out—some by wrestling the flare away, others by physically confronting the protester.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez condemned the disruptions as “unjustifiable,” writing on the social platform X that police “quickly arrested several individuals causing serious disturbances inside the venue and contained the protesters outside.”

In a statement, the Philharmonie de Paris denounced what it called “serious incidents” that marred the evening’s performance.

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