Bertrand Cantat: French singer who killed his girlfriend pulls out of festival performances after backlash

Cantat said he wanted to 'bring an end to the controversy'

Bertrand Cantat was convicted of the murder of his then-girlfriend Marie Trintignant in 2003 (Rex)

Bertrand Cantat, the singer convicted of murdering his girlfriend - the actress Marie Trintignant - has pulled out of a string of festival appearances after a huge backlash from music fans and feminist campaigners.

Cantat - who rose to fame as the singer of the band Noir Desir and was once hailed as the “Jim Morrison of French rock“ - was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2003 and served four, after he beat the 41-year-old Trintignant to death during a fight in a Lithuanian hotel room.

After he was released on parole in 2007 he quickly tried to resume his music career, to the disgust of Trintignant's family; he started a new band called Detroit in 2013 after Noir Desir split in 2010, and later embarked on a solo venture.

Earlier this year an online petition was launched following the announcement that Cantat would perform as a solo artist at Papillons de Nuit festival in Saint-Laurent-de-Cuves, Normandy, and gained almost 75,000 signatures.

“By inviting Bertrand Cantat, you condone domestic violence and violence against women,” the petition read.

In response to the backlash, two other festivals dropped Cantat from their lineups. However the organisers of Papillons de Nuit refused and said in a statement: “We consider that our only criteria should be artistic.”

Now Canat has issued a statement announcing that he has cancelled all festival appearances “to bring an end to this controversy and end pressure on organisers”. He will still perform his scheduled headline tour dates.

In a rare interview with French publication Gala, Tritignant's mother condemned Cantat for continuing to pursue his career. She said she did not blame his fans or promoters for continuing to support him but "I do not understand them".

"He did not pay anything at all," she said. "He should have served 20 years... everyone seems to have forgotten the number of blows Marie received."

In his statement, posted in French on his Facebook page, Cantat said: "I have never sought to detract from the consequences of my actions and therefore from justice. One again I express my most sincere, profound and total compassion to Marie and her family."

He added: "I [also] understand that my being on a festival program this summer can be a problem, which is why I have decided to withdraw from these festivals. In this way, the latter will no longer have to undergo pressure of any kind."

He concluded: "I paid the debt to which justice condemned me. I have served my sentence. I did not receive any privileges. I wish today, as any citizen, the right to reintegration. The right to exercise my profession, the right for my loved ones to live in France without being being pressured or slandered. The right for the public to go to my concerts and listen to my music."