Eight years after the coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13, 2015, Madonna recalled her own experience in the City of Light just weeks after the tragedy. During her Celebration Tour stop in Paris, Monday night, the singer reflected on her impromptu visit to Place de la Republique with her son David in December 2015, while in town for her Rebel Heart tour.
“This is a tragic event, and I remember singing with David in Place de la Republique, the last time I was here with the Rebel Heart tour – what little I could do to acknowledge this tragedy,” she said. “But these tragedies keep happening, it never ends. And you can ask yourself sometimes, when will it end, and what can we do as human beings to change it?”
She then prompted the audience of thousands at Accor Arena to turn on the flashlights on their phones, as she led them into a sing-along of an acoustic cover of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.” The singer has been performing Gaynor’s song as part of her new tour, encouraging fans to come together for love, peace, and unity.
In 2015, right after her opening night, Madonna joined those mourning the victims of the attacks at the famous square in Paris, situated near the nightclub, Le Bataclan, where one of the attacks took place. “I think it was good to come back near the place where the events took place. A symbolic, national monument. We wanted to proclaim that we would not give in to fear and, after all this violence and these sufferings, bring peace, energy, joy. I will never forget this night, never…” she told the French outlet Parisien in 2017.
Here you can watch Madonna sing “Imagine” at Place de la Republique in December 2015.
Madonna is currently in the middle of the European leg of her Celebration tour, where she is performing her four-decade long career-spanning set. The North American leg will be launching on Dec. 13 in Brooklyn.
