Paris Haitians gather to celebrate Fèt Gede and honor ancestors

PARIS — The Haitian community in Paris came together on Nov. 1 to mark Fèt Gede, Haiti’s Day of the Dead, through a night filled with Rasin music, dance, and spirituality. The annual Ayibobo Masquerade was held by the Paris-based association Kouzen Lakay and the D’Imperial Group at Espace Alliance in Blanc-Mesnil, in the northeastern suburbs of the capital. The Fèt Gede celebration brought together artists, cultural groups and hundreds of members of the Haitian diaspora who celebrated the Gede spirits, the intermediaries between the living and the dead in Haitian Vodou.

The event followed a press conference on Oct. 31 at the Haitian Embassy in France, where Ambassador Louino Volcy welcomed the organizers and artists and praised the association’s promotion of Haitian culture abroad.

“I am truly happy because this is a continuation of the Embassy’s work,” he said. “This event is focused on Haitian music, on Haitian roots, and on promoting the country in France. We continue to make the country shine through Rasin music and all its components.”

France is home to a significant Haitian diaspora that has grown steadily since the 1980s, with many initially arriving via French Guiana. According to France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), approximately 87,000 people from Haiti were living in France with regular status as of 2017. However, when accounting for all Haitians across French territory, regardless of status, as well as first-generation French citizens of Haitian origin, the Haitian Embassy in France estimates the total exceeds 100,000, with the majority residing in metropolitan France, primarily in the Paris region. 

The community maintains strong ties to Haiti, sending an estimated 165 million euros annually in family remittances, making France the third-largest source of diaspora funds to Haiti, remittances that represent roughly 25% of Haiti’s GDP.

• Darly Estinval, head of Imperial Group, speaks about the Ayibobo Mascarade at the Haitian Embassy in France ahead of the Fèt Gede celebration in Paris. Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.
• Singer Riva Nyri Précil at the Haitian Embassy in France for the Ayibobo Masquerade press conference ahead of the Fèt Gede celebration in Paris. Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.
• Haiti’s Ambassador to France Louino Volcy at the Ayibobo Masquerade press conference in Paris. Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.
• Singer Riva Nyri Précil performs at the Ayibobo Masquerade Fèt Gede celebration in Paris on Nov. 1 2025. Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.

This year marked the second edition of the Ayibobo Masquerade in Paris, organized in partnership with the New York-based D’Imperial Group led by Darly Estinval. While Kouzen Lakay has organized Fèt Gede celebrations in France for years, this collaboration with Estinval has elevated the event’s reach. The partnership brought together artists from Haiti, the U.S. and France.

The Ayibobo Masquerade movement connects Haitians across borders through culture and spirituality. “We embrace the Rasin movement because it is a dance rooted in Vodou that expresses all the problems of the Haitian people,” Estinval said.

Marie Gabrielle Pierre, president of Kouzen Lakay, a group founded to promote Haitian traditional culture through music and dance, said the event exceeded her expectations. 

“We expected 400 to 500 people, but more than 1,000 made the trip and showed up, it’s a great success,” she told The Haitian Times. 

“Fèt Gede is such an important tradition for us. Everyone goes to the cemetery to honor their ancestors and loved ones. That’s the context in which we celebrate this holiday.”

• Members of Kouzen Lakay perform at the Ayibobo Masquerade Fèt Gede celebration in Paris. Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.
• A drummer from Kouzen Lakay performs at the Ayibobo Masquerade. Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.
• A member of Kouzen Lakay performs at the Ayibobo Masquerade. Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.
• Singer Riva Nyri Précil performs at the Ayibobo Masquerade at the Ayibobo Masquerade in Blanc-Mesnil, Paris. Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.

Sylvie Paul, who was born in France to Haitian parents, came to see Thoy’Art and Tipay perform.

“My mother is from Port-au-Prince and my father is from Tabarre,” she said. “I’m glad to be celebrating tonight. We’re the French Haitian diaspora, this is about our roots and our ancestors.”

• Attendees celebrate Fèt Gede at the Ayibobo Masquerade in Blanc-Mesnil, Paris, with Rasin music, and dance. Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.
• Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.
• Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.
• Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.
• Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.
• Photo by Simon Feisthauer Fournet for The Haitian Times.

As the night at Espace Alliance drew on, dancers and spectators joined together in rhythmic celebration, merging tradition and modern expression. The air filled with incense and drumbeats and the energy of the crowd rose with each chant.

Estinval said she hopes Ayibobo Masquerade will evolve into a larger event, possibly an Ayibobo Festival that brings together Haitian artists across Europe and North America. 

“We want to create something big,” Estinval said. “A real festival that celebrates Rasin and Haitian identity.”

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