# Young Parisian orchestra uses performances to support protest movements

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/their-orchestra-is-not-a-sacred-object-but-a-tool-for-struggle-pariss-musicians-join-the-frontline/
- Published: 2026-10-28T16:08:39+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-28T16:52:20+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/oct/28/orchestre-du-nouveau-monde-orchestra-tear-gas-paris-protests
- Topics: Culture, Entertainment, Europe, Music, Trending, Weird & Viral, World

## Key points

- Paris musicians played on during student protests.
- The orchestra uses performances to advance social and political aims.
- Its approach echoes radical British orchestras of the 1960s and 1970s.

## Summary

L’Orchestre du Nouveau Monde, a group of young Parisian musicians, drew attention during last week’s student protests by continuing to play as tear gas canisters landed nearby. The orchestra treats music as a means of political action and public participation, challenging the idea that classical music belongs in formal venues or should be judged mainly by technical polish.

Co-founded by conductor Étienne Jarrier, the group promotes anti-racism, feminism, environmentalism, anti-capitalism and de-growth through demonstrations, school outreach and performances. The article places it in a tradition that includes Britain’s Scratch Orchestra, founded in 1969 to make experimental music open to people of all abilities, and the Portsmouth Sinfonia, formed in 1970 and known for deliberately chaotic versions of classical works. The Scratch Orchestra played the Proms in 1972 and disbanded in 1974; the Portsmouth Sinfonia’s 1981 release “Classical Muddly” reached number 38 in the charts.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.