RFI Debate Asks Whether Concerts Have Become Unaffordable

Céline Dion returns to the stage on 23 September 2026 for the first of sixteen concerts she is giving in France this year, and seeing her show requires both winning a ticket lottery and paying several hundred euros. British band Oasis, which has just announced a 2027 tour, uses the same system for its fans. RFI's Débat du jour, published on 22 September 2026, asks why attending star concerts has become so difficult, who benefits from the hyperinflation of ticketing, and whether regulation is possible. The discussion brings together Sophian Fanen, journalist and co-founder of the online media outlet Les Jours; Stéphane Krasniewski, president of the SMA, the syndicat des musiques actuelles, and director of the festival Les Suds in Arles; and François Moreau, professor of economics at Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and a specialist in the economics of culture. The debate follows Dion's opening concert for her residency 'Céline Dion Paris 2026' at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre, in the Paris suburbs, on Saturday 12 September 2026, photographed by Aurelien Morissard for AP. The programme is distributed by RFI, which promotes its international newsletter and mobile app alongside the episode.