French fest says latest edition could be its last

Organisers of one of France’s biggest and longest-running music festivals say the 2024 edition could be its last, amid a dispute with local authorities.

The privately-funded 70,000-cap Les Vieilles Charrues festival in Carhaix, Brittany has been held since 1992, attracting the likes of Robbie Williams, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blur, Muse, Lana Del Rey, Depeche Mode and Neil Young.

This year’s event, scheduled for 11-14 July, will star David Guetta, Kings of Leon, Sting, Sam Smith, Gossip, PJ Harvey, Yungblud and Simple Minds, among others. Regular four-day tickets cost €197.

But the Vieilles Charrues Association (VCA) is warning that “recent decisions by the municipality of Carhaix and the Poher community” have put the future of the festival at risk.

“If nothing changes between now and summer, the 2024 Les Vieilles Charrues could be the last,” say organisers.

According to Connexion France, the series of disagreements includes the sale of a building situated in the area used for the festival’s main entrance. Organisers had hoped to purchase the building but it was instead sold to a third party by the council last December, with the new owners set to move in this summer.

“Unfortunately, if nothing changes by this summer, the 2024 edition of Vieilles Charrues could well be the last”

Moreover, the VCA says it was hit with an “excessive and unfair” €367,000 bill from the council “without consultation” for use of the “meadow, buildings and the provision of municipal staff”.

It also alleges that Poher Council decided last month to “no longer make available half of the land occupied by the festival’s campsites from 2026″, and claims that officials are making decisions “without full knowledge of the facts”, and “constantly changing their mind”.

Stressing that the event brings in “over €2 million in donations”, as well as tourism, jobs, sponsorships and other benefits to the region, promoters are appealing “to the elected representatives of central Brittany to save the festival”.

“Faced with incessant reversals, we have the feeling that we are experiencing a relentless attack on our association,” says the association. “The accumulation of these decisions leads us to a dead end. We have had to constantly adapt in recent years. Today, we no longer have any room for manoeuvre or fallback around the festival.

“We are still, more than ever, viscerally attached to Carhaix and its inhabitants for almost 30 years and we cannot imagine the end of Vieilles Charrues. We are now calling on the elected representatives of central Breton to save the festival. Unfortunately, if nothing changes by this summer, the 2024 edition of Vieilles Charrues could well be the last.”

The local authorities are yet to respond to the claims.

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