Céline Dion Opens Paris Residency With First Concert in Six Years

Céline Dion returned to live performance Saturday night at Paris’ La Défense Arena, opening a 10-show residency with her first concert in more than six years. The sold-out crowd of over 30,000 received her with a standing ovation as she began with “On ne change pas,” visibly wiping away tears.

The 26-song set moved between her French and English catalogs across four acts and a four-song encore. It included three live debuts — “The Chase,” “Dansons,” and “Je chanterai” — as well as the first full performance of “Ne bouge pas” since 2003 and the first live reading of “Les derniers seront les premiers” since 2009. Later stretches covered “My Heart Will Go On,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Courage,” and a medley that shifted from Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” into “I’m Alive” and “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”

Dion closed the main set with Catalani’s “Ebben? Ne andrò lontana” before an encore of “All by Myself,” “Pour que tu m’aimes encore,” “S’il suffisait d’aimer,” and “Des milliers de baisers.”

The context for the return is specific. Dion was diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome in 2022, and her live future had been uncertain. She returns to La Défense Arena on September 16th, with further Paris dates scheduled through October 14th.