The interpreter of My Freedom of Thought recorded a song to support the environmental activist detained in Greenland since July 2024.
« The cause is good, the guy is in a trap ». In an interview given to Parisian Sunday October 13, Florent Pagny announced that he had lent his voice to a song in support of Paul Watson. The founder of Sea Shepherd has been in detention in Greenland since July 2024 and under an international arrest warrant issued by Japan.
« If with my little voice I can be useful, I do it »declares the singer. Like We Are the World in 1985, which brought together artists against hunger in Africa, or the anthem of Les Enfoirés, Florent Pagny would be accompanied by several artists, including the singer Cali, thus forming a true charitable music group. The objective is clear: to put pressure on the authorities in order to obtain the release of environmental activist Paul Watson. At the end of July, the 73-year-old man was arrested by Danish authorities while en route with his ship, the John Paul DeJoria, to intercept a new Japanese whaling factory ship. He is now being held in custody in Greenland until October 23 awaiting his extradition and his arrest has since been the subject of a strong outpouring of support. « This guy has been fighting to defend whales since the 1970s. If we don’t do something about him, humanity will have problems. », supports the 62-year-old singer.
« I rarely get involved, because I’m not an activist, I don’t do politics “, underlines Florent Pagny. This time, the cause is close to his heart. Off the coast of Patagonia, where he has lived for around twenty years, the singer sometimes goes whale watching. « It’s 250 km from us, in Puerto Madryn. Between the jets and the fins, I already found myself counting sixty whales around me. Magic »he says.
The singer Francis Lalanne is at the initiative of this song. The latter enjoyed success in Greenland ten years ago with his title Suli Avunga. He flew to the Danish crown territory two weeks ago to support Paul Watson and « mobilize as many people as possible in the artistic world ». Close to Dieudonné and a figure in the conspiracy sphere during the health crisis, Francis Lalanne has been a controversial figure for several years but this has clearly not slowed down Florent Pagny: “I never subscribed to his delusions. But I’ve known him for thirty-five years and when he sends me this song, I ignore all that ».
According to The Parisianother artists would be ready to record their voices. Among them: Véronique Sanson, Anne Sila, Arielle Dombasle, David Hallyday, Manu Lanvin, Fabienne Thibeault, Yannick Noah, and the Tryo group. According to lawyer Me Emmanuel Ludot, one of the pillars of this project, a Japanese version of the song was also recorded « to disseminate it to public opinion there ». No release date for the song has been specified.
“A hero who spent his life defending whales against the Japanese. »
Brigitte Bardot
Since his arrest, Paul Watson has received support from a large number of cultural figures. “It’s a scandal, I would even say that it’s an infamy » Pierre Richard was indignant in a video published on social networks. “ He’s an extraordinary guy, a hero who spent his life defending whales against the Japanese, against Japanese harpoons. “, declared Brigitte Bardot. Joe Duplantier, co-founder of the Gojira group, was in Copenhagen on August 12 to demonstrate in front of the Danish Parliament. The petition created by journalist Hugo Clément was signed by more than 300,000 people, including Pierre Niney and Stéphane Bern.
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