A planned open-air screening of Barbie in the Paris suburb of Noisy-le-Sec was cancelled at the last minute after local authorities received threats of disruption and damage to equipment.
The Hollywood comedy was selected by residents in a public vote as part of the town’s summer open-air cinema programme, which the municipality has had for three years.
But this year’s selection drew a backlash from a small but vocal group, some of whom denounced the film as “neo-feminist propaganda” and accused it of “promoting LGBT stories”.
On August 11, Mayor Olivier Sarrabeyrouse said: “I regret that a small group in the neighbourhood has mobilised its energy under pressure from one individual to prevent the screening of this film, which was classified as suitable for all audiences in France when it was released in cinemas in 2023.”
According to Sarrabeyrouse, several municipal workers received direct threats from opponents who vowed to block the screening and destroy the equipment.
“The officers called me because they felt they were in danger. I was the one who decided to cancel the screening,” he said.
Sarrabeyrouse dismissed the protesters as an “extreme minority of hooligans” driven by “obscurantism” and “fundamentalism”, accusing them of likely not even having seen the film.
He said he would “file a complaint” and refused to “tolerate cultural no-go zones” in Noisy-le-Sec.
He framed the situation as part of a global pattern and targeted at the Right.
“All over the world, the film sparked debate and gave rise to numerous interpretations. It provoked a reaction from the most reactionary and conservative ideologues, especially far-right, causing yet another moral panic,” he said.
Critics, though, have argued that cancelling the screening only encouraged such groups to act in the future.
A left-wing opponent of the Mayor, Jean-Paul Lefebvre, described the decision to screen Barbie as “surprising.”
‘This story is a sign of rebellion against the Mayor,” he told French newspaper Le Parisien, adding that the film was “uninteresting”.
