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Published on August 3, 2026 by Simon Janvier

A cornerstone of French chanson since Petite Marie (1977), singer-songwriter Francis Cabrel offers with this “En concert au Zénith de Rouen” recording a live document of his In Extremis Tour (2015-2016), the stage extension of his 2015 album In Extremis. Filmed in HD at the Zénith de Rouen (Le Grand-Quevilly), the performance features the tour’s expanded band: a brass section (trumpet, saxophones), clarinet and flute, a cello, and Cabrel’s longtime players Gérard Bikialo on piano, Bernard Paganotti on bass and Éric Sauviat on guitar. The show pairs timeless classics — Je l’aime à mourir, La corrida, Petite Marie, Sarbacane — with more recent, socially aware songs such as Mandela, pendant ce temps and La voix du crooner. What makes this filmed live concert notable is its jazz-swing and orchestral reworking of a folk repertoire, carried by an undiminished voice and Patrick Savey’s polished direction. An essential capture to discover Cabrel on stage at the height of his maturity. Keywords: Francis Cabrel, Zénith de Rouen, 2016, live, in concert, In Extremis Tour, French chanson.

Setlist

  1. La voix du crooner
  2. Assis sur le rebord du monde
  3. La fille qui m'accompagne
  4. Mandela, pendant ce temps
  5. Partis pour rester
  6. Les gens absents
  7. C'est écrit
  8. Encore et encore
  9. Petite sirène
  10. L'encre de tes yeux
  11. Cent ans de plus
  12. Dur comme fer
  13. Quinn l'esquimau (reprise de Bob Dylan)
  14. African Tour
  15. Petite Marie
  16. Je t'aimais, je t'aime, je t'aimerai
  17. La robe et l'échelle
  18. La corrida
  19. Sarbacane
  20. Je l'aime à mourir
  21. La dame de Haute-Savoie
  22. In extremis

Personnel & credits

  • Francis Cabrel — vocals, guitar
  • Gérard Bikialo — piano, keyboards
  • Bernard Paganotti — bass
  • Éric Sauviat — electric guitar
  • Denis Benarrosh — drums, percussion
  • Isabelle Sajot — cello
  • Claude Egéa — trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Stéphane Chausse — saxophone, flute, clarinet
  • Davyd Johnson — saxophone
  • Patrick Savey — director (recording)
  • Chandelle Productions — production
Category

What to watch next

Neither Francis Cabrel nor Zénith de Rouen appears elsewhere in the catalogue: what follows rests on the ground itself, Chanson from the 2010s.

Same ground: Chanson, the 2010s

The whole Chanson catalogue