The Fête de l'Humanité has been run by the Communist daily L'Humanité since 1930 and remains part political gathering, part music festival. Regional federations and allied organisations build stands serving food from their region or country, there is a substantial books-and-debate programme with serious political figures, and the music stages carry a large mainstream bill that draws an audience with no particular interest in the politics.
It moved in 2022 from La Courneuve, where it had been held for decades, to the former airbase at Brétigny-sur-Orge in the Essonne.
No audited attendance figure is published, so we record none.
The weekend is ticketed, with the ticket traditionally sold as a vignette de soutien through the party network as well as commercially. It falls in mid-September, when the Paris cultural season is restarting, and transport to the Essonne site is by RER and shuttle.
PlanningSeasonal window in mid-September; the site moved to the Essonne in 2022 after decades at La Courneuve.