GOJIRA Insane Performance "AH ! CA IRA" (Olympics 2024)

[@florianl.877]

The boat is because the boat is the emblem of the city and the motto of Paris is « Fluctuat nec mergitur« , Latin phrase which means he is beaten by the waves but does not sink. It’s all about history and symbolism

[@slimmc7716]

Quand on connait bien histoire de Marie Antoinette et la révolution ce tableau a tout sens ❤

[@alexmental3504]

Aaaaaaaa okay! Very interesting, now it makes sense👍 Thank you for watching 🙂

[@edr001]

“To the lantern!” » is an exclamation used in Paris and France during the Revolution during summary executions by hanging from poles supporting city lanterns. We find it in the revolutionary song Ah! that will be fine (“the aristocrats with the lantern!”). During the Revolution, the journalist Camille Desmoulins referred to himself as “general prosecutor of the lantern”; In September 1789 he published a pamphlet, Discourse of the Lantern to the Parisians, justifying the summary executions of aristocrats. For symbolic reasons, it is mainly the lantern at the corner of Place de Grève (current Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville) and the old Rue de la Vannerie which serves as an improvised gallows. Indeed, it was located opposite the Paris town hall near a bust of Louis XIV, which ensured that “popular justice was carried out before the eyes of the king”

[@Caporal_Blutch]

Symbolism in this scene : - The song "Ah ça ira" (Ah it will be ok) was a famous song that french queen Marie-Antoinette liked to hum, whose origin would be from Benjamin Franklin (in France around 1780) who answered "ça ira, ça ira" (it will be ok, it will be ok) every time he was asked for news about the American Revolutionary War. In 1790, the revolutionaries changed the words of the original song to make murderous apostrophes against the nobility and clergy. - The deca.pitated woman is, of course, the queen Marie-Antoinette. Marie-Antoinette of Habsburg, Imperial Princess of Hungary and Bohemia, last daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis the First, became queen of France in 1774 when her husband, Louis the Sixteen, go to the throne. When revolution began in 1789 and for several years, the Austrian empire and all the monarchies of Europe threaten the French people with reprisals if they do not restore the French monarchy. In 1791, the royal family tried to flee to Austria but was arrested in a small town called Varennes and brought back to Paris. In 1792, is the famous "Brunswick Manifesto", distributed in the streets of Paris, written by the the Prussian army chief Brunswick, ordering the French to restore immediately the king on the throne. It will have the opposite effect. The french royal family is then considered as traitors by the French, because negotiating with foreign enemies who wants to stop the revolutionnary ideas, the republic, and return to the monarchy. In January 1793, King Louis was sentenced to death for perjury and executed. Same year in October, Marie-Antoinette is tried for high-treason and sent to the guillotine. The two years that will follow, a period called "The Terror", should be studied by all those who think that a revolution is always something beautiful and romantic... - The castle is a medieval castle called "La Conciergerie", in the center of Paris. It is a museum today, but during the revolution it was a courthouse and a prison. It's exactly here that queen Marie-Antoinette and the royal family were imprisoned, with thousands of aristocrats, before being sent to the guillotine. - The guy holding the fire flame in front of the palace is a reference to the video game "Assassin’s Creed" and the French Tech (Ubisoft Studio is a french compagny). - The boat is a symbol of the city of Paris, whose motto is "Fluctua nec mergitur" (latin words for "Struck by the waves but does not sink"), who passes over monarchy. - The lyric singer (Marina Viotti) sings the famous opera Carmen, and symbolizes Lady Marianne. Marianne represents a revolutionary woman, with a Phrygian cap on the head (revolutionary emblem). Today this woman is the symbol of the French Republic, its representation is everywhere, and its bust present in all town halls and public buildings of France, or as French administration logo. She is this woman with naked breast, holding a French flag in one hand and a rifle in other hand, in the center of the famous painting by Delacroix, "Liberty leading the People", visible at the Louvre museum... or above a Coldplay music album ;) - Obviously, all these red fireworks symbolizes blood, noble's blood, because a lot was poured during the ten years constituting the French revolutionary time (from 1789 to 1799), before a guy called Napoleon took power and came to restore order and unity in French society. - Some say the audacity of puting heavy metal for an Olympic ceremony is a response to the terrorist attacks in November 2015 in Paris, where 130 people were killed, including 90 in the Bataclan concert hall, during a concert of the American metal band "Eagles of Death Metal".

[@TheStephenlarose]

As I understand it, the Concierge is also the place where those terrorists were incarcerated before their trial.

[@chabiflo45]

@@TheStephenlarose No, "La conciergerie" is actualy a museum.

[@TheStephenlarose]

@chabiflo45 My mistake. Thanks for the correction.

[@Chris-ze4eq]

Paix à son âme à cette reine qui n'était pas méchante, du reste.

[@JTreguer]

@@Chris-ze4eq Juste essayant du mieux qu'elle pouvait d'amener les autres monarchies a envahir la France pour mettre fin à cette révolution de gueux ... Aussi peu "méchante" que les autres tenants et profiteurs de l'ordre ancien ...

[@annelauremercier640]

And if you want to understand a bit more the choice of Metal music and badass band for this ceremony, just remember the 2015 Paris attacks during Eagles of Death Metal concert in Bataclan where more than 90 people (including 3 of my friends) were killed... This choice for the Olympics is a big FUCK YOU to the perpetrators ad shows that France will not bow to idiots and bigots from any religion. The French revolution was to put an end to the dictatorship of monarchy and of the church... so yups, all messages wrapped together...epic !! It is for me the best tribute ever to the victims and my chest just burst with pride for that

[@alexmental3504]

Thank you for watching man and details, my condolences for your loss.

[@annelauremercier640]

@@alexmental3504 50 years old lady here 😜, and thank you so much for your message

[@LizzieJaneBennet]

​@@annelauremercier640 Je n'avais pas fait le lien 😢. Je comprends votre émotion. 🕯️Hommage à eux, fauchés dans leur jeunesse dans un moment de fête et de communion autour de la musique. La terreur, l'intolérance et l'obscurantisme ne vaincront pas.🤘🎸

[@alexmental3504]

Sorry mam, my bad 🙂 thank you for your comment 🤘🤘🤘😉

[@leknu146]

​@LizzieJaneBenn et Il faut étre un initié pour comprendre tout le sens de cette période historique qui porte le nom de TERREUR. Les Nobles et le Clergé furent dépossédés de leur fortune et tués en masse par la guillotine ( par décapitation) et faire tomber la Monarchie

[@GINGERALERR]

I'm not a metal person, but this performance had me crying.....so beautiful, so epic, so original. Dear God we need more of this!

[@fabs8498]

Not metal !😂😂😂

[@chaoswizard1782]

@@fabs8498 shut your gate keeping shit mouth

[@NocturnalTerror]

I cried lol

[@Chris-ze4eq]

Moi aussi

[@suzannelang8792]

I can’t stop watching this piece of art. What an amazing & powerful collaboration. 😈🤘 Alex, you headbang like a fricking beast. 🖤

[@atompornel3228]

Opera singer Marina Viotti symbolizes Marianne, the personification of the revolution and the French Republic. She's in the silver boat, the one that can be seen in the coat of arms of the city of Paris.

[@alexmental3504]

Wow I didn’t know that, but I guessed it right I think. Incredible performance from such an iconic band. Thank you for watching 🤘👍😉

[@Christopher-k7f]

And she is metal and lyric singer ! Hell yes !

[@sandre_sandre]

Fluctuat Nec Mergitur! ("she's beaten by the waves but doesn't sink", the motto of the city of Paris.)

[@atompornel3228]

@@sandre_sandre That's right. Because that boat symbolizes the ancient city of Lutetia established by the Parisii tribe (whom Paris got its name) in the island in the middle of the Seine we know today as Ile de la Cite. It's like a boat floating in the river. ⛵

[@choucas8901]

And a boat that never sink, by the way

[@pinkunicorn3373]

A Frenchman here; we can also see a slightly more subtle meaning in this painting. Near the concierge, there is the Palais de Justide in Paris where the terrorists of the Bataclan attacks were judged. On November 13, 2015, during these attacks, a metal group was playing at the Bataclan. (Eagles of Death Metal). Paris then recalled its motto (Fluctuat nec mergitur) for Parisians against terrorists. This painting can therefore also be seen as a tribute to the victims of the 2015 attacks.

[@elsa-bergamotte2739]

Géniale ta réaction. Pendant cette révolution, plus de 17000 personnes ont été décapitées ! Les têtes tombaient dans les paniers du matin jusqu'au soir à un rythme de fou. Le roi et la reine et un maximum d'aristocrates. Ceux qui ont survécu à la colère du peuple devaient leur vie à la fuite dans d'autres pays. Ce fut sanglant mais cela a permis la naissance de la République et paradoxalement à la déclaration des droits de l'homme. ... j'écris en français alors j'espère que la traduction ne sera pas trop dégueulasse ...

[@veve3948]

i'm so glad you enjoyed it ! c'était fantastique .

[@samcrorie]

This is probably the most metal thing I've ever seen. Let's f go Gojira 🤘🔥

[@mehurar]

Olympic metal at its best!

[@k.v.7681]

A bit of an aggregate of all the symbols and history tidbits you can find in the performance, simplified for a (hopefully not too lengthy) comment The song: Ah ça ira! Was a popular song from the revolution. Somewhat pious at first, the lyrics were changed in 1790 by the Sans-Culottes (the popular layer of revolutionaries. It was a slur at first to designate people that wore full-length pants (so craftsmen, farmers, "blue-collars" we would say nowadays) as opposed to men that wore shorter pants with tights (nobility, rich merchants etc)). In this instance, they chose the more brutal lyrics, those of the sans-Culottes, to signify it was a Revolution by the people. It's about getting rid of aristocrats, hanging them from lampposts and burning them, tarring them etc. The place: La Conciergerie is built on the first fortification to ever exist in Paris (then Lutecia under Roman Conquerors, between the first and third centuries AD). It was replaced by a palace under the Carolingian dynasty, became a justice court with a prison, then a parliament house for nobility, then a palace again. During the revolution, it was again turned into a prison and justice court, and many aristocrats were imprisoned there, including the queen Marie-Antoinette, to face judgement before going to the guillotine (hence the people with cut heads in the performance). That castle is essentially a symbol of 1500 years of vertical power (kings, nobles, foreign occupiers ruling over the people) until a bloody revolt ended it all in that very place by beheading a god-ordained monarch, making the power "horizontal", birthing the first iterations of a republic in the country. The ship: The ship is from the coat of Arms of the city of Paris (most cities and even villages in Europe have a Coat of Arms for various reasons, adopted from a feudal lord or from a free group of notable commoners that banded together to rule the place under fealty and privilege of a king). It goes hand in hand with the origins of Paris, it's geography and history, due to the motto: "Fluctuat nec mergitur" ("Beaten by the waters but does not sink"). The banks of the Seine are easily flooded, but the city started out as a settlement on the Ile de la Cité, the island where nowadays you find Notre-Dame de Paris. That Island offered great strategic safety in olden times, and is slightly elevated, so it doesn't flood. The Hunic invasion under Atilla was also described as a "tide", and the city managed to hold against it (The patron saint of Paris, Saint Genevieve, is said to have prayed on the walls as the Huns were climbing them, until god smote them. The more historically accepted fact is that she led and organised the defense for long enough that the Huns had to withdraw to maintain other parts of their empire). Given that symbol of resilience, the performance in the way it was done links back to the Bataclan terror attacks and how the city (and country) faced the aftermath. Marina Viotti, the opera singer: She represents Marianne, the allegory (human representation, like Britannia for the UK, Columbia or lady Justice for the US, Germania for Germany, etc) of the Republic. A well known painting representing that allegory is "Liberty guiding the people" by Delacroix. The singer herself is interesting for her role in this performance, because she is a very well regarded singer, but started out as a metal singer, and she can scream pretty impressively. The visual elements: they're pretty self-explanatory, and look cool. Basically, the war and blood that was spilled in a fight for freedom overthrowing a millennia of oppression. BUT. I consider that the smoke and fire-flashes at the end, from the window, could be linked to a specific aspect of the Revolution: it wasn't just about overthrowing a king. It was about surviving against the biggest nations of the continent because most royals at the time were terrified at the idea these events could inspire their own people to revolt. Hundreds of thousands of men were thrown against France to put the Revolution down, and during most of the early stages of those events, one of the main reason the people were attacking royal forts was to get gun powder and guns to equip their men to face that onslaught. That's why the Bastille was taken at first. And the same week, the City Hall and Conciergerie were attacked as well for the same reason.

[@elsa-bergamotte2739]

Très bon commentaire. Pas simple de résumer cette incroyable révolution. Magnifique performance de Gojira et toute la troupe !!

[@victormarie525]

Merci pour ces précisions ! 👍

[@alexandreantozzi4444]

Yo Alex ! Gojira did an amazing performance for the olympics ! The castle they playing on is called " La conciergerie " it used to be part of the royal palace, then during the revolution it became a jail and Marie Antoinette was one of the prisoners inside the castle. Almost 3000 prisoners were in the conciergerie, their last place before getting beheaded. For the opera singer her name is Marina Viotti she was part of some metal band in the past as well

[@alexmental3504]

Wow! Cool dude 🤘 I never heard anything about her, but very interesting🤘👍 Thank you for watching

[@johnnyalves5259]

This performance was amazing! Gojira as usual kicking asses!

[@alexmental3504]

I totally agree 🤘🤘🤘👍

[@Juju-uy5bb]

Hi Alex, glad you enjoyed this performance. One of my favorite bands singing with one of my dearest Friends Marina. About our History in our glorious capital... My eyes are droping perles every time i watch. Salutations de France 🍷😉

[@cedricaribi2299]

J'écoute rarement du metal mais ca fait plaisir de voir que mon pays permet a chacun dy trouver son plaisir 😍🤟🤟🤟

[@submail4871]

2:00 🤘😁👍 Médaille d or pour la France...^

[@veve3948]

ouiiiiii

[@alessandrosiri3052]

Gojira sur le toit du monde !!!

[@mattgomes7762]

J'habite à côté de Ondres, où Gojira à grandit, quand je vais travailler, je dois toujours passer par cet petite ville et parfois je me dis "Ha ouais quand même" haha

[@captainmurk3745]

If in The Matrix it takes you 10 hours to learn kung fu, it will take you 200 hours to learn the rich history of France.

[@Ontheroadagain777]

😂😂

[@alexmental3504]

Well I know what you mean dude 😃. Thank you for watching 😉🤘🤘

[@gaellepaul2237]

This chapter is about the French Revolution. The castle is the Conciergerie, in the center of Paris along the Seine. "Ça ira" is a very famous revolutionary song learned by all French children for 235 years. The French Revolution was a bloody period with many social changes, followed by the so-called "Terror" period. It was great to mix metal and opera in the castle where Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, was imprisoned and then beheaded.

[@jacquelinepelisson168]

Gojira a dépassé Céline DIon !! Les américains were crazy !!

[@gemeloreacciona]

Epic reaction

[@alexmental3504]

Thank you dude 🤘👍😉

[@Dario_flight23]

This song is about French Revolution bro

[@alexmental3504]

Thanks I know 😄🤘 Have you watched the video ? 😄

[@Dario_flight23]

@@alexmental3504yeah I did and 🙂nice reaction bro

[@marc3dartist601]

A punk band from the 80's also did it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6m6i353l9iKack&ab_channel=LesPorte-Mentaux-Topic

[@Lili-vd3zh]

I'm french. The place where Gojira plays is " la conciergerie". Marie -Antoinette was imprisoned and beheaded there during the Revolution. It's very symbolic. The song "ah ça ira" is a revolutionnary song. It means "it will be fine". Sorry for my bad english

[@hut5946]

Your english is fine dont be sorry and thanks for the infos

[@Lili-vd3zh]

@@hut5946 ❤️

[@illgetaway]

The queen was not decapitated in la conciergerie. On the morning following her trial she was put on a cart and exposed to the public on the way to the square of the revolution (nowadays square of the concord, almost 3km from the conciergerie) where she was decapitated for all to see.

[@Lili-vd3zh]

@@illgetaway oui vous avez raison... Je me suis perdue dans la traduction

[@arnoaldloukasscirpionis1558]

Actually, it wasn't exactly just Gojira - it was Gojira WITH opera singer Marina Viotti AND Orchestre de Paris (this philharmonic orchestra out of the scope of the cameras). The combo makes the piece epic. The scenery indeed refers to the Revolution, and the boat to Paris (it's the town's emblem, because the Vikings passed and the town survived, like a boat on a rough sea). The intro "Ah, ça ira ! Les aristocrates à la lanterne, on les pendra" before Gojira actually kicks in means "It will be fine ! We will HANG the aristocrats at the street light [posts]." This was a French Revolution popular song - except by the time Marie Antoinette was condemned to death, Doctor Guillotin had invented the guillotine, in hope to make the execution less painful than hanging. The intro (beheaded Marie-Antoinette at the balcony) also alludes to the queen of England's seen at a balcony during the London 2012 Olympic Games' opening ceremony, with a French sense of humour (namely: look, we can display a queen at a balcony too, but in our non-monarchist, republican way).

[@picassomanu185]

Hello there, older French woman and history buff here. And after watching a few of those reaction vids, I must say I love you metal heads! I appreciate Metal occasionally, but it's not my scene. I am, however, a history nerd,and I LOVE that you guys are doing your research.... unlike some idots being excited about satanism and pearl clutching. There are misses, but then, as far as I can tell, the symbolism is at least 5 layers deep in that scene, and I'm pretty sure I missed some. It is actually quite complex. Oh, and one last thing: Can you think of any music that would fit with the most violent part of the Revolution than this one?

[@mariazamora6824]

Honestly, you pretty much got the main gist of the performance. As people have commented below, the building is La Conciergerie, which was a prison that held Marie Antoinette before her execution. I believe her execution was at La Place de la Concorde. The headless Marie & then Gojira are singing lines from an old song by the people during the Revolution called "Ca ira" or "It will be [fine]." So yes, the while performance harkens to the French Revolution it also is reminding everyone of how violent & gnarly (& METAL) it was. Your clip didn't show it but right before this section starts, they had a performance of Les Miserables, the words "Liberte" are shown across the screen and IMMEDIATELY, it goes to the headless Marie. She's singing "It will be fine, the aristocrats will be on the lanterns. It will be fine, the aristocrats will hang." That sequence basically communicates that in order to have our liberty, the big wigs need to die, which....oof! The red streamers & powder coming out of an old prison absolutely symbolizes blood. Also, immediately after the Revolution, they got The Reign of Terror where A LOT of ppl were being executed, and not all of them were guilty of anything. The French are basically saying "Hey, remember that time when were were CRAAAAA-ZY? And we lowkey still kinda believe in it..." lol

[@alexmental3504]

"Wooow! You see, at least I guessed something correct 😄. Thank you for explaining this historical moment. Such an amazing performance by Gojira, and the message is so deep."

[@coreysuffield]

also on the screen that displayed 'Liberte' was a depiction of famous painting, just before the zoom into the window, 'liberty leading the people' not seen anyone mention that

[@mariazamora6824]

@@coreysuffield oh yes! The Eugene Delacroix painting. I clocked it when I first watched it but forgot to mention it here. So yes! Thank you!

[@PerranFromGaul]

The Metal band Gojira sang "ha ça ira!" ("ha, it will be fine !") a song from the French Revolution (1789) the song and the show made reference to the fact that French freedom was unfortunately acquired in the blood and beheading of the king and his queen and the Aristocrats and all anti-revolutionaries. It was also a reference to the Bataclan terrorist attacks in 2015 : it will be fine, we will not let it happen. I would like to point out that it was not a question of advocating the Guillotine either, every French person finds it absolutely horrible that the Queen was beheaded. Here it was a question of symbolizing that the roots of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, were drawn from internal struggles and violence, unfortunately. Hence the famous "Mea Culpa" in the lyrics of the Gojira song. And to emphasize this, the shows involve a boat, symbol of Paris with its motto in Latin "Fluctuat Ne Mergitur" (sail but never sink) which means that we will not sink and that we will fight for our freedoms and their maintenance. I summarize enormously the meaning of the scenes of this ceremony. All is about metaphors, symbols in this opening ceremony (not only about Gojira's show). Greetings from France 🤘

[@SophieMarteil]

She is a famous opera singer who was in a metal band before

[@leonardosanchez2360]

Great Reaction Alex 🤘🎸

[@edg5907]

Just for clarification, which is important! The idea for the staging came from DAPHNÉ BÜRKI, who worked with Thomas

[@sanjisan2437]

DO NOT PROVOKE THE FRENCH!!!!

[@tenaogreg]

Il est habité le gars

[@FredericGaillot]

"Ah ça ira" means "all will be fine" .. these were the words used by Benjamin Franklin, US embassador in Paris from 1776 until 1785 when talking about the American Revolution .. the french Revolution changed a popular song in 1790 and included these words into their song. The song turned more bloody, when was added in 1790 "Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira ! Les aristocrates à la lanterne. Ah ! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira ! Les aristocrates on les pendra". In short, "all will be fine, the aristocrats by the lamp post, all will be fine, we will hang the aristocrats" .. and that what happened down the road, when in 1793 Louis XVI and later in the year Marie Antoinette were beheated. This was also the period called 'La Terreur' which lasted only 11 months (Spet 1793 / July 1794) and during which an estimated 35,000 up to 40,000 people were killed (mostly beheated). The place where the show form Gojira is made is called 'La Conciergerie', which used to be one of the initial place where kings used to live, before moving to the Louvres, almost next to the Conciergerie on the other side of the river Seine, then to Versailles, about 20 km away from Paris. During the Revolution, the Conciergerie served as a court and a jail. Marie Antoinette was kept there until her execution on October 16th 1793. Finally, the Opera singer is Marina Viotti, she was named best lyric singer in France in 2023, and she's singing in the Scala in Milan and in the Opera in Paris.

[@J2M67]

For LA 28, i suggest to do something in space.

[@paulatreides1354]

0:37 the likeness with aaron paul from breaking bad is crazy !, but yeah thinking i saw them first time in 2003 in limoges , frances small venue ,Gojira ,a local band and where they are now,bravo !

[@ericteyssedou1369]

the female singer is Marina Viotti, she was a lyric singer went to heavy metal and now back in opera

[@olivierolivier6080]

Marie Antoinette was held at this very palace, La Conciergerie. "Ah ca ira" is a revolutionary song singing " yes, they will go" (to the guillotine). The boat is the symbol of Paris

[@MawattWillis]

La conciergerie (the castle they are on) was the site of the first palace of the first king of the Franks: Clovis, it is one of the places of the very heart of France.

[@soleildeminuit2285]

And there is also another symbolism: a tribute of the deaths at the Bataclan. Islamic terrorists killed people at a death metal concert in Paris. It had a huge impact in Paris and in France meaning that you want to kill us but we are still alive.

[@edb3255]

Thank you for saying this. Not sure if that was intended by the organizers but I certainly feel the symbolism you described together with you.

[@soleildeminuit2285]

​@@edb3255it wasn t intended but the choice of Gojira to play here rings bells for French people and parisians. It was a huge honnor to the victims to let a metal band play.

[@lenomade_fr6432]

lmao dude, at the end "this performance was ...." cut XD i think i know why, youtube will not be happy i guess ? haha

[@paulfuentes5276]

"Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira Les macronistes on les pendra !" 😀

[@Axclamp]

The band Gojira, who think they have a global impact, are no longer metal, they're just shit, I will never buy this band again, or even listen to Gojira, it's over for me.

[@charlotte5419]

I’m sure they’re absolutely devastated Axclamp from youtube will never listen to them again

[@moitoujoursmoi3020]

Apology for génocide perpetrated in the name of human rights

[@kailee87]

4:14 time to play DOOM babe