The 1970s By the early 1970s,
Les punks, a
Parisian subculture of
Lou Reed fans, had already become well established. Initially, two central figures were
Marc Zermati, who had founded Skydog Records in Paris in 1972, owned the Open Market record shop, and promoted American and British bands in France; and
Michel Esteban, the owner of the Harry Cover rock merchandise shop and founder of
Rock News magazine, who had associated with leading punk and
new wave musicians in
New York City. The first European Punk Rock Festival, organised by Zermati, took place at
Mont-de-Marsan on 21 August 1976, and featured French bands Bijou, Il Biaritz and Shakin’ Street, as well as
The Damned. Zermati later said: "The real punk movement started in New York, and Paris came before the UK because we were really connected to New York... it was exciting because we thought we were conspiring against the establishment." He also claimed that he persuaded
Malcolm McLaren to call the movement "punk" rather than McLaren's preferred term, "new wave". An important influence on the style and content of the movement in the UK was the French
Situationist movement, led by
Guy Debord. Formed in 1976,
Métal Urbain and
Stinky Toys were two of the first French punk bands, although at the time most French punk fans preferred English or American punk. Generally regarded as the most original of the early French punk bands, Métal Urbain gave their first performance in December 1976. Stinky Toys' debut single, "Boozy Creed", came out in September 1977 and was perhaps the first non-English-language punk rock record. The following month, Métal Urbain's first 45, "Panik", appeared. Other French groups formed, such as Abject and Dentist in Nice, Strychnine in Bordeaux, Starshooter in Lyon. In London, French all-girl group The Lou's were part of the scene, as well as Private Vices, who featured three French members out of four, including
Bruno Blum, who at the time wrote for influential French rock magazine
Best. Most of these early groups, including Les Olivensteins and The Dogs, can be heard on the 1984
Les Plus Grands Succès du Punk (Skydog) double CD anthology.
The 1980s and later More and more punk rock groups appeared in
France during the 1980s, such as
Ludwig von 88 and
Bérurier Noir. These bands are two of the most famous punk rock groups in
France. Another notable act of the decade was
Karnage, a post-punk group from
Clermont-Ferrand formed in 1981. Regarded as one of the pioneers of French
anarcho-punk, Karnage was among the first bands to weave quotations from anarchist thinkers such as
Pyotr Kropotkin into their songs. Employing both a live drummer and a drum machine at different points, the band recorded its first four-track demo,
Planète Poubelle, in 1982, followed in 1984 by its sole vinyl release, the
Total Terminus EP.
Les Wampas appeared during the 1980s but had more success in the 2000s. During the 1990s
Noir Désir became one of the most famous bands in
French rock. Their style is a mix between
punk rock and
grunge. The band
Mano Negra also had worldwide success. During the 2000s there became more and more
hardcore punk groups, like
Guerilla Poubelle or
Tagada Jones. The most successful group from the 2000s is
Les Wampas with the songs
Manu Chao and
Chirac en Prison. ==French Punk Bands==