Bruce Springsteen has continued his tirade against US President Donald Trump during a show in Marseille, France.
Springsteen began his European tour in Manchester at the Co-op Live on May 14th. At this first show, he condemned the Trump administration. The Boss continues to spread his monologue at every show despite explicit threats from Trump, who wrote online that the musician “ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare’. Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”
“They are abandoning our great allies,” he declared again in France, to a raucous and more extended applause than many other nights. The divide between America and France has worsened due to Trump’s administration; the President recently posted that he will impose a 200 per cent tariff on “all WINES, CHAMPAGNES AND ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE.”
In March, centre-left politician Raphaël Glucksmann demanded that America “give us back the Statue of Liberty”.
France’s history of protest and revolt means this part in Springsteen’s speech struck a particularly deep chord with the crowd of 60,000. The Boss continued to spread his hopeful message: “The America I’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real and, regardless of its faults, is a great country with a great people.”
The set-list for his concert in Marseille included three covers and stretched to an impressive 27 songs. The first cover was of Patti Smith’s ‘Because the Night’, a song he has played consistently throughout the tour. As always, he also finished the set with a cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Chimes of Freedom’ to round out his message for a new, united America in the face of fascism.
However, the ‘Born in the USA’ singer slotted in a surprise cover before finishing with Dylan’s famous tune. He added a joyful, enthusiastic cover of The Top Notes’ ‘Twist and Shout’ as the penultimate track of the night, for a fitting tour debut of the old classic. He famously played this song live 11 years ago alongside Paul McCartney.
Springsteen will now head to Liverpool for a show on June 4th, before travelling to Germany.
