Inside the French feasts deemed ‘offensive to Muslims’

Inside the French feasts deemed ‘offensive to Muslims’

Inside a packed market, a crowd of 1,800 belts out the Marseillaise, hunting horns sound and roars erupt as Asterix and Obelix rush past, banging a giant magic potion pot.

As local charcuterie is served and wine flows, classic French songs such as Michel Delpech’s 1974 Le Chasseur prompt guests to rise from their long wooden tables, sing, sway and dance.

Long lines of conga form but suddenly scatter when the DJ announces: “Le cochon, le cochon.” Pork is served.

The setting could scarcely be more French and for the guests, many clad in berets and stripy tops, that is precisely the point.

They have gathered in the central city of Bourges for the latest iteration of a phenomenon sweeping France: banquets géants, or giant banquets, mass feasts built around traditional food, wine, music and a celebration of all things français.

Yet what looks, and for those inside feels, like an enormous village fête has become one of the latest fronts in France’s culture war.

Left-wing opponents accuse the organisers of using the pork-heavy menus with a side of patriotic conviviality to ostracise Muslims and disguise a far-Right political project before the presidential elections.

The organisers vehemently deny that charge, insisting they have built nothing more sinister than a modern provincial party.

#france #cochon #culture #debate

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