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“They challenged us without delicacy, telling us that we had nothing to do here as women,” says Julia.
Festival – immense queue, cleanliness that leaves something to be desired, more or less easy access from the stage … whether pop or rap, in the city center or in the countryside, in festival, there is a logistical problem which seems inevitable: access to the toilets, especially for women, who find themselves waiting for a long time in front of mobile toilets while men pass to the urinal.
“It doesn’t seem unthinkable to queue for 30 or 45 minutes for something as basic as a pee”, tells Julia. At 27, this accustomed to festivals was tired of having to schedule her passages to the toilet so as not to miss half of her favorite concerts.
For the 2025 edition of Musilac, flagship festival of the city of Aix les Bains, it therefore invested in a “piss-debout”. Also called “Marinette”, this utensil invented in 2013 in Montpellier, allows you to urinate standing comfortably thanks to a gutter system.
A clever solution, but whose practice ended very badly for the festival tree: in its first use of the urinals, it was excluded from the festival for which she had spent € 69 per evening.
“They told us that we had nothing to do here as women”
“I have been going to Musilac every year for ten years. This is the time of the year we all meet with my friends, and I really wanted to go see DJ Snake, who was spending Thursday July 10 ”testifies Julia to the HuffPost. At the time of the Wampas concert, accompanied by a friend, she goes to the urinals who, according to her, do not indicate that they are reserved for men.
“When we arrive at the level of the urinals, there is an endless tail in front of the“ women ”toilets – which are actually mixed, since men also use it. In the urinals, I noticed that other women were there so naturally, I put myself next to them. We occupied a very small space and we started to pee, we were not showing off or screaming ”, she details.
They are arrested in action by the festival security agents who, according to his story, their private “Get out immediately”. “They challenged us without delicacy, telling us that we had nothing to do here as women, that these toilets were for men, as if we were transgressing a rule. »»
An apostrophe that makes “Very afraid” to women present, and prevents them from ending their needs: Julia reports that some put their navy in panic, others run by running. “It was very intrusive, it shocked and irritated me too. I hadn’t even finished peeing, I didn’t bother anyone. We were there so as not to take a lead in front of the toilet and return to see our calm concert ”. The festival party relates an unpleasant feeling “ d’humiliation ».
Excluded two hours after arriving at the festival
In front of « violence » Surveys and tone of the security agents, Julia stands up and things “Disgenerate”. “They spoke very hard, asked us if they were going to the” women’s toilets “. I told them that it was not normal to come and annoy us like that, and to show so much violence in their words, and I asked to see the rules of procedure so that they prove to me that I was not in my right. »»
When the young woman, her friend and the security personnel come out of the urinals, the conversation gets worse and she is summoned to leave the festival. “They started to grab my wrists to get me out. My friend interposed before this physical constraint. They took us out ”says Julia, corroborated by images consulted by Libération. “I tried to film the scene, and a security guard tried to take my laptop to try to delete the video, but he did not succeed. I got even more upset: we do not take strength the affairs of people ”.
According to his testimony, security officers call the police, who arrive at the scene quickly. “I gave my identity, they searched me, I explained what had happened to me and I asked the police if they could do something, but they told me no. »»
About two hours after her arrival at the festival, she found herself at the door, alongside the friend who had accompanied her to the urinals. “I missed the concert that I wanted to see because, arbitrarily, men decided that my behavior was not adapted. All that for a pee ”, She gets annoyed. “They were very sure that I was not allowed to be there. I felt humiliated, then very angry. I had a strong feeling of injustice, and I felt alone in the face of people who did not want to communicate. »»
Contacted by The HuffPostthe organization of Musilac refused to communicate on the subject, before clarifying having come into contact with Julia. The young woman confirms that she was called by two people from the festival. “They apologized, and offered to reimburse me my place. I replied that what was important to me especially was that it does not happen anymore: I do not want us to use this reimbursement as a pretext to say that the story is settled and that the same thing happens next year. »»