Eleven years after their debut album, Détroit, Bertrand Cantat’s band will release a second album on December 6. In February 2024, the band had already unveiled an unreleased song: L’Angle, at the same time as a fund-raising campaign. The campaign was a resounding success, enabling the group to raise 217,011 euros in just a few days via the Ulule platform. The campaign provoked outrage from feminist associations and numerous celebrities who were outraged that Bertrand Cantat, sentenced to 8 years in prison for the murder of Marie Trintignant in 2003, could benefit from crowdfunding. Under pressure, the platform finally disassociated itself from the project, donating its entire commission to an association for women victims of domestic violence.

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The murder of Marie Trintignant

When he met Marie Trintignant in 2002, Bertrand Cantat had been married to Kristina Rady for 9 years, and the actress to Samuel Benchetrit for 8. Theirs seemed to be a passionate affair. They soon abandoned their spouses and children and moved in together. But on the night of July 26-27, 2003, the actress, who was working on a film set in Lithuania, was struck 19 times in the face and body by Bertrand Cantat. The actress succumbed to her injuries on August 1. On trial in Vilnius, the ex-leader of Noir Désir was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for “murder committed with undetermined indirect intent”..

Since his early release from prison in 2007, Bertrand Cantat has been trying in various ways to resume a normal artistic life, with varying degrees of success. For example, the singer’s 2018 tour was severely disrupted by a call for a boycott from feminist associations. Under pressure, the singer had to cancel several of his concerts. It now remains to be seen whether Cantat and his band will be allowed to forget about their new album. Nothing is less certain.