Arles Celebrates Thirty Years of ‘World Music’ Fusion

National Day Contrasts Official Festivities with Vibrant Cultural Gathering

On France’s national day, Arles offered a tale of two squares. While Place de la République buzzed with tightly secured official celebrations, just a few hundred meters away, Place Voltaire pulsed with a different energy.

A Soundscape of Tradition and Innovation

The Eat Bal electro-folk duo captivated audiences by reimagining traditional Occitan, Auvergne, Poitevines, and Breton music. Following their performance, Martinican singer Dédé Saint-Prix and his band Bégui Bègui Bang took the stage, drawing a diverse crowd that soon filled the square. Spectators of all backgrounds joined in, dancing together under the plane trees, a testament to the inclusive spirit fostered by the Les Suds festival for three decades.

Festival’s Origins: A Vision for Mediterranean Unity

The Les Suds festival, a benchmark for French “world music,” owes its existence to a 1995 initiative by then-Arles Mayor Michel Vauzelle. He tasked Marie-José Justamond with conceptualizing an event to celebrate Mediterranean cultures. The festival, Les SUDs, was launched the following year. Reflecting on the festival’s roots, Justamond stated:

“I went back to Barcelona this year to take stock. I went there in November 1995, to the conference which brought together the foreign ministers of the EU and the 12 Mediterranean countries including Lebanon, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Israel and Palestine. The idea was to establish a global Euromediterranean partnership to make the Mediterranean a common space of peace, stability and prosperity. Culture had to hold an important place there. It was a moment filled with hope which seems today unimaginable… ”

—Marie-José Justamond, Founder of Les Suds Festival

The original aim was to foster a broad Euro-Mediterranean partnership, envisioning the region as a unified zone of peace and prosperity, with culture playing a central role. This ambition arose from a significant 1995 conference in Barcelona involving EU and Mediterranean nations.

According to the French Ministry of Culture, France saw over 2.2 million people attend public cultural events during the summer of 2023 alone, highlighting the significant public appetite for such gatherings (Source: Ministère de la Culture, France).