Legendary Senegalese musician Youssou Ndour has criticised the management of Paris’s Accor Arena after the sound system was apparently switched off towards the end of his annual Grand Bal concert on Saturday night.

The mbalax star refused to leave the stage, accusing venue officials of disrespecting fans and prioritising money over the audience’s experience.

“I refuse to come down from the stage. We are going to do a song to say goodbye. We respect people. You only respect money,” Ndour told the audience.

According to Senegalese news outlet Seneweb, the sound appeared to have been cut off to signal that the concert had exceeded its allocated time.

Ndour also criticised the venue’s handling of the crowd, claiming some concertgoers had waited for hours to enter the arena.

“I know this venue better than you who manage it now. I arrived here in 1985,” he said, urging management to stop treating people poorly.

The singer insisted that he wanted to perform one final song as a gesture of respect to fans who had turned out for the annual event.

Despite the tense exchange at the end of the show, the Grand Bal remains a major fixture on the Senegalese music calendar, drawing fans from across the diaspora to Paris.