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LISTEN: Five things to know about France’s Fête de la musique

The one day a year where your neighbours cannot be mad at you for blasting the music, and where everyone across France gets their groove on - here is what you need to know about the Fête de la musique.

Published: 16 June 2022 14:59 CEST
Updated: 21 June 2022 08:35 CEST
LISTEN: Five things to know about France's Fête de la musique
Singer Iris Gold performs in the courtyard of the Elysee Palace as part of "Fete de la Musique" (Photo by Lewis JOLY / POOL / AFP)

It is on the longest day of the year – Fête de la musique (music festival) takes place every year on June 21st – no matter what the day of the week is. In 2023, it fell on a Wednesday.

This day is also the longest day of the year and the summer solstice, so music listeners can soak up lots of daylight while jamming to the band, DJ set, or orchestra playing on their street corner. Celebrations on the summer solstice aren’t specific to France – Nordic countries, where the sun doesn’t set on June 21st, also have their fair share of festivities in the daylight.

It was invented by an American – The concept came about back in the 70s when American musician Joel Cohen was working as a music producer for French National Radio (France Musique).

He came up with the idea of a day full of music to celebrate the solstices, originally proposing “Saturnales de la Musique” which would be celebrated on both June 21st and December 21st with a special musical program broadcast all night long.

His idea for the June festival did eventually catch on (although December 21st is not a festival day in France) and that’s how Fête de la musique as we know it was born,

It’s all over France…and the world – Fête de la musique is celebrated all over France, from small towns to large cities.

In 2019, over 10 million people took part, and depending on where you go, it does have the potential to get a bit rowdy.

It has also gone global, and over 100 countries celebrate it. It started being exported out of France as early as in 1985, during the “European Year of Music.” Then, in 1997, several other European cities signed onto a charter to be ‘partners of the European Music Festival.’ In the United States, several cities also take part, calling it “Make Music Day.”

It has become such a big deal that at one point in 1998 a postage stamp was dedicated to it, right alongside stamps for the Olympic Games and the Queen of England. 

It’s on the French calendar, but not a public holiday – In 1982 the then-Culture Minister Jack Lang, launched the first official edition of the Fête de la Musique in France, with the help of Maurice Fleuret.

The French government got behind the idea and made it an official event and it’s been popular ever since.

That being said, even though the event is marked on French calendars, it is not a jour férié, so you don’t get the day off of work sadly.

Professionals and amateurs alike – Fête de la musique is not just for professional musicians – it is truly a democratised event where anyone and everyone can get involved.

Though a lot of big name musicians take advantage of the day to plan concerts or symphonies, you’ll still see plenty of amateur musicians out on the streets just playing their instruments or singing. You might even see people just set up a big speaker and blast whatever music they feel like listening to.

The goal of the day is to promote the arts, and give everyone dedicated time to appreciate music.

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FRANCE EXPLAINED

Why are berets so synonymous with France?

If you walk by a tourist shop in Paris, the chances are very high that they will have a full assortment of berets to choose from. But why is this fashion choice even associated with France?

Published: 13 May 2024 14:36 CEST
Why are berets so synonymous with France?

If you were to believe the TV shows and movies about France’s capital, everyone in the city owns a beret, drives a moped, smokes cigarettes, and carries baguettes under their armpits.

While some of these stereotypes might be more true than others (hint: baguette transportation), the anglophone world has been convinced that berets never go out of style.

READ MORE: Baguettiquette: Weird things the French do with bread

These days, a person walking around Paris in a beret is just as likely – if not more likely – to be a tourist than a French person.

That being said, the English-speaking world does have good reason to associate berets with the French.

The word beret is thought to be of Gallic (pre-French) origins, dating all the way back to the Romans, though similar styles of headgear have been found in archeological sites across the ancient world.

Officially, beret begins to appear in the French dictionary around the 15th century, and by the 19th century the waterproof headgear had become popular.

Napoleon associated them with the Basque country and the Pyrenees, though different versions of berets were worn across the French countryside, including the people who would go on to be known as ‘onion johnnies’ in Brittany.

French Onion Johnnies

Brits have a specific reason to associate the French with berets, according to writer Margo Lestz with the Curious Rambler blog.

From the mid-1800s to mid-1900s, it was common for Brits to see French men in berets, riding bicycles and carrying onions.

“These beret-wearing, onion-laden cyclists arrived in the UK every summer to peddle their wares. They came from the area around Roscoff, Brittany in western France. This area was (and still is) known for its special pink onions. They were sweet, had a long storage life – and the British loved them.

“As it happened, many of these onion-sellers were called Yann, a common Breton name which is the equivalent of Jean in French and John in English. The British soon took to calling them “Onion Johnnies”. The Johnnies didn’t mind and happily adopted their new English nickname.

“They would go door to door from July through December across the UK, then would return to Brittany. Since the Onion Johnnies were the only contact that many Brits had with a Frenchman, they naturally assumed that all Frenchmen wore berets,” Lestz wrote.

READ MORE: Why we think the French all wear berets and carry onions

Military gear to street fashion and revolutions

Another reason we associate the French with berets has to do with official military uniforms. Beginning in the 1880s and continuing into World War I, France’s Chasseurs Alpins, infantry soldiers the Alps, began to wear berets as part of their uniform. 

Aloïs Guinut, the author of the book ‘Dress like a Parisian’ told 20 Minutes that “Shepherds wore them first, then soldiers, schoolchildren, and then golfers, mountaineers, and even cyclists adopted it.”

Guinut said that once the headwear became popular with athletes, it started to became stylish in general.

“Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel was one of the first to use it as a fashion accessory in the 1930s,” Guinot explained, noting that around that time French cinema was growing in popularity, and more French actresses were sporting berets, including the leading lady Michele Morgan in the film ‘Le Quai des Brumes’.

READ MORE: Where does the ‘romantic, sexy French’ stereotype come from?

By the 1940s, berets were so connected to French identity that they became an essential accessory for the resistance during World War II.

Afterwards, other resistance movements began to incorporate berets too, including the revolutionary Che Guevara.

What about now?

Several military uniforms across the world include berets, including parts of the French military like paratroopers and the French foreign legion.

As for Parisians, “there are [some] who do wear berets. I see them regularly. But it’s true that tourists love wearing berets when they visit Paris, so it is a bit of a tourist accessory,” Guinut said.

It continues to be part of the ‘Parisienne’ appearance as luxury fashion companies use it in their yearly collections – like Dior in 2017.

Meanwhile, tourist shops play up the beret, while pop culture continues to give us images of the beret-wearing Frenchwoman – most recently, Emily in Paris, with the main character frequently accesorising with a bright red beret.

Let us know what you think about berets in the comments below. Do you consider them stylish?

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