ABSTRACT
The coronavirus pandemic has transformed the soundscapes of social and political struggles across the globe. In our chapter, we would like to propose the study of their sonic expressions in France under the first lockdown, from March to June 2020. The year 2019 was a year of major demonstrations, which culminated with the Yellow Vest movement, the protests of health and university workers, and mass strikes to protest pensions reforms. As per tradition in France, these demonstrations were marked by the extensive use of song, music, and rhythm. The lockdown interrupted these forms of expression, but new sonic manifestations of dissent quickly emerged to elude COVID-19 restrictions, including protest banners, claps for caregivers, car horns against the government’s handling of the crisis, improvised concerts, casserole percussion, and fireworks to protest harsh living conditions in the suburbs. What other politically conscious sonic expressions has the lockdown induced in France? We attempt to respond through the documentation and study of sound, under the lens of newly occupied private spaces for the benefit of public expressions, with a view to delineating future modes of political participation and dissent.
