It's hard to beat the experience of
arriving in a small French village,
expecting no more than a bed for the
night, to discover the streets decked
out with flags and streamers, a band
playing in the square and the entire
population out celebrating the feast of
their patron saint. Apart from Bastille
Day (July 14) and the Assumption of the
Virgin Mary (August 15), there are
traditional folk festivals still
thriving in Brittany and the remote
rural regions of the south, as well as a
full calendar of festivals devoted to
films and to music from jazz and folk to
rock and classical.
Catholicism is deeply
ingrained in the culture of French rural
areas, and as a result religious
feast days still bring people out in
all their finery, ready to indulge once
Mass has been said. Most of these
occasions, along with the celebrations
around wine and food production, are
very genuine affairs. Other festivals,
based for example on historical events,
folklore or literature, are often
obviously money-spinners and shows for
municipal prestige - not something to go
out of your way for.
One folk festival that is
definitely worth attending is the
Inter-Celtic event held at
Lorient in Brittany every August.
Another annual event with deep
historical roots is the great gypsy
gathering at Les-Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer
in the Camargue. Though exploited for
every last centime and, in recent years,
given a heavy police presence, it is a
unique and exhilarating spectacle to be
part of.
Bonfires are lit and fireworks set
off for Bastille Day , for the
Fête de St-Jean on June 24, three
days from the summer solstice, and for
the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
on August 15. Mardi Gras - the
last blowout before Lent - is far less
of an occasion than in other Catholic
countries, although the towns on the
Côte d'Azur put on a show at great
expense and in questionable taste.
Festivals calendar
AIX Aix en Musique (mid-June
to early July); International Dance
Festival (mid-July).
ALÈS Festival du Jeune Théâtre
(second to third week July).
ANNECY Festival de la Vieille
Ville (second week July).
ARLES Gypsy and World Music
Festival (mid-July).
AURILLAC International Street
Theatre Festival (last week Aug).
AVIGNON Dance and Drama
Festival (last two weeks July).
BASTIA (Corsica) Mediterranean
Film Festival (Oct).
BELFORT Eurockénnes Rock
Festival (first week July).
BORDEAUX Doc Martens Rock
Festival (last week July).
CALVI (Corsica) Jazz Festival
(third week June).
CANNES International Film
Festival (May).
CHALON-SUR-SAÔNE National
Festival of Street Artists (third week
July).
CHARLEVILLE-MÉZIÈRES Triennial
World Festival of Puppet Theatre (last
ten days Sept).
CLERMONT-FERRAND Festival of
Short Films (end Jan to early Feb).
COLMAR Colmar International
Festival/Elassical music (end Aug to
early Sept).
CRÉTEIL (outskirts of Paris)
International Festival of Women's Films
(end March/Early April).
DIJON International Folk and
Wine Festival (first week Sept).
DINARD Chamber Music (late
July to early Aug).
DOUAI International Festival
of the French Language (May) - drama,
dance, music and cinema from Francophone
countries.
FORT-LOUIS (nr Strasbourg)
Rock Festival (end Aug).
GANNAT (nr Vichy) World Folk
Festival (last ten days July).
GRENOBLE Festival of European
Theatre (first week July).
JUAN-LES-PINS International
Jazz Festival (last two weeks July).
LA ROCHELLE Contemporary Arts
Festival (June & July); International
Film Festival (end June/first week
July).
LES ARCS Chamber Music (late
July to early Aug).
LES-STES-MARIES-DE-LA-MER
Gypsy Festival (May 24).
LIMOGES International Festival
of French-Speaking Communities (end Sept
to mid-Oct).
LOCRONAN Breton Troménie
Pardon (second Sun July).
LORIENT Inter-Celtic Festival
(first full week Aug).
MARCIAC Jazz in Marciac
(second to third week Aug).
MENTON Chamber Music Festival
(Aug).
METZ International
Contemporary Music Festival (mid-Nov).
MONT-DE-MARSAN Flamenco
Festival (mid-July).
MONTPELLIER International
Dance Festival (end June to mid-July).
MONTPELLIER Festival de Radion
France et Montpellier (mid-July to early
Aug) - classical music, early music and
jazz.
MURAT International Folklore
Festival (first full week Aug).
NICE Mardi Gras (Feb, week
before Lent); Festival of Contemporary
Music (Nov) - electro-acoustic music.
NÎMES La Féria du Carnaval
(Feb, week before Lent).
ORCIVAL Pilgrimage to
Notre-Dame d'Orcival (May 24).
PARIS Gay Pride (June 21); New
Morning All Stars Jazz Festival (July);
La Villette Jazz Festival (first week
July); Fête de l'Humanité (early Sept) -
cultural festival sponsored by the
Communist Party; Festival d'Automne
(mid-Sept to Dec) - international
theatre, dance and music; JVC Jazz
Festival (Oct); Montmartre Vintage
Festival (early Oct).
PARTHENAY Jazz Festival (first
to second week July); Festival of
Traditional Music (Aug).
PÉRIGUEUX International Mime
Festival (first full week Aug).
PRADES Festival Pablo Casals
(late July to early Aug) - classical
music.
PUY-EN-VELAY Festival of the
Roi de l'Oiseau (mid-Sept).
QUIMPER Semaines Musicales (Aug)
- classical music.
RENNES Tombées de la Nuit (first
ten days July) - theatre and music
festival; Les Transmusicales (second
week Dec) - international rock festival.
ROQUE D'ANTHÉRO International
Piano Festival (first three weeks Aug).
ST-LIZIER Chamber Music (late
July to early Aug).
ST-MALO La Route du Rock
(third week Aug) - rock festival.
STRASBOURG Film Festival
(March); International Mime and Clown
Festival (Nov).
UZÈS Festival de la Nouvelle
Danse (mid-June).
VAISON-LA-ROMAINE L'Été de
Vaison Dance Festival (mid-July to early
Aug).
VIENNE Jazz à Vienne (first
fortnight July).
