It is the latest incident of conservative backlash against cultural events at former or current religious buildings in France in recent weeks.

The concert had been planned for April 27th atop Notre-Dame de Fourviere, a 19th-century church overlooking the southeastern city of Lyon, with footage of the event to be screened in a nearby public square.

But the Quai de Saone collective organising the event said it was calling it off to protect the audience, following “serious threats of violence” and the “demands of a minority of individuals”.

“It’s so sad,” said a spokesman for the group, which worked with a priest to finalise plans for the performance.

“We spent so much time mediating from the very beginning for the project to be perfect and in sync with religion… and now threats of violence have gone and destroyed it all,” he said.

“To break negative assumptions about electronic music, we thought the basilica would be the best place.”

Performers were to include mostly Lyon-based artists, including Catholic rapper GAB, who “clearly do not say anything rude or blasphemous in their songs”, he added.

The foundation that manages the building on Thursday said the concert had been scrapped as it had caused “serious disagreements”.

On Twitter, a small far-right group called Les Remparts on Thursday celebrated the cancellation of the so-called “woke” concert “even before our actions on the ground”.

Earlier this month, LGBTQ star Bilal Hassani was forced to call off a concert at a converted church in the northeastern city of Metz, after Catholic activists described it as a “profanity”.

That came after a French priest said he had received death threats after a sold-out pole dance performance in his church that the local paper called “sexy”.