Opera singer Veronica Antonelli made the most of the glorious afternoon on Sunday July 31, 2022, to sing in the streets of Montmartre, at the foot of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. As passerby were wandering about the Parisian hill, enjoying her velvet voice, the atmosphere changed!
The police arrives and arrests the soprano. Surprised, the audience films the scene and the video is quickly uploaded on social networks. One of the police officers says: “Come with me, please, madame” and answers a man advocating for the French-Italian singer: “Just entering madame’s identity,… This is not a question, I am a police officer”…
What an incomprehensible situation for the singer! “We are in a public area”. A never-seen-before situation for her.
The phone owner recording the scene – shocked – comments the ongoing action: “Madame is arrested by the police. It seems singing is banned”. This intervention let the neighborhood puzzled as it is where the timeless Edith Piaf rose. The video has been reshared as support by lawyer and politician Gilbert Collard.
Au pays de Piaf, deux policiers (et non pas la police), empêchent Veronica Antonelli de chanter dans la rue : Quel courage ! L'ordre facile et ridicule règne ! #Montmartre pic.twitter.com/rW4crMnjS6
— Gilbert Collard (@GilbertCollard) July 31, 2022
Tweet reads: “In the country of Piaf, two police officers (and not the police), prevent Veronica Antonelli from singing in the street: how brave! Easy and ridiculous order rules”
The charm of Paris is its artists, singers and musicians. Tourists look for them and expect to enjoy the postcard vibe in the city. An authentic Paris like it was in the time of Piaf!
