The Paléo Festival, one of the largest outdoor music festivals in Europe, indicated on Monday that in 2019, an “inadmissible behavior” reported by a volunteer during the visit of Patrick Bruel in Switzerland was concluded by an agreement between the latter and the French singer.
The declarations of the festival follow the revelations of the TF1 show Sept to Huit diffused on Sunday, according to which a volunteer masseuse of Paléo, who works every year in Nyon, between Geneva and Lausanne, denounced the behavior of the singer, during a massage organized behind the scenes of the festival, on July 28, 2019.
“It was important for us to communicate that we support and believe in our collaborator”, declared the Paléo, to explain the reasons that prompted him to communicate.
In 2019, «the week following the festival, we were informed of unacceptable behavior by the artiste towards a volunteer (…). The facts reported were serious and his testimony was taken very seriously,” he said in a press release.
“We immediately gave him our support, notably through a proposal for psychological and legal support,” he added.
According to the Paléo, “a judicial procedure was initiated” between the volunteer and Patrick Bruel, “which was concluded in 2022 by an agreement between the parties including a confidentiality clause”.
The festival indicates having “respected” the decision of the volunteer. He added that “nothing of this nature” had been reported to them during the artist’s previous venues. “Il va de soi que nous ne collaborationerons plus avec Patrick Bruel”, he also indicated.
according to Sept to HuitPatrick Bruel would have paid, following the agreement concluded with the volunteer, several thousand euros to an association d’aide aux femmes immigrées.
The show indicates that the singer’s lawyer confirmed the agreement to them.
“There was no gesture from Patrick Bruel towards her. A conciliation was proposed by the prosecutor, as is the practice in Switzerland, for minor allegations. It was accepted by the plaintiff and by Patrick Bruel”, declared his lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, in a written note read by a journalist.
The singer, who is due to launch his tour on June 16 at Cirque d’Hiver in Paris, then pass through many French cities, in Switzerland and in Belgium, has been invited by several mayors, notably those of Paris and Marseille, to give up performing in their cities, due to four complaints of rape in France and a judicial investigation for sexual assault in Belgium.
Patrick Bruel contests all the facts that he is accused of.
Three concerts of the singer, scheduled for December in Quebec, have been cancelled.
In Switzerland, feminist groups are calling for the cancellation of their concerts, scheduled for June 25 at the Pully Live Festival and June 26 at the Bellarena Indoor Festival.
Source: Lequotidien
