Madonna: Two Paris shows in November

There are two nights at the Accor Arena in Paris for Madonna coming up this autumn, with shows on November 12 and 13.

The concerts are the only French dates of her Celebration Tour, marking the 40th anniversary of her career. The tour begins over the summer, with dates in North America before making its way to Europe, with shows in Rome, Milan, Copenhague, Cologne, Berlin, Lisbon and the O2 Arena in London.

It's not always been a celebration for Madonna to play in Paris, as her show at the Olympia in July 2012 made clear. During her MDNA tour she played the famous Paris venue, a much smaller hall than the arenas she played elsewhere on the tour. The intention of the show was to give her the opportunity to pay tribute to French artists and cinema, and how the country welcomed inspiring artists. She clearly included herself in that category. 

Tickets were expensive and initially limited to fans before being made available to the public and the show was streamed internationally. It wasn't exactly without a hitch. 

Despite a cover of Je t'aime... moi non plus, possibly the most obvious cover she could do in the whole history of French music, the 45-minute running time of the show was met with scorn by many who had paid almost 300 euros to attend the event. Water bottles were thrown at the stage with cries of "Recompense!" from the audience. It was not a happy ending to what she probably expected to be a warmly received intimate show in front of fans.

She commented later on her website: "Playing the Olympia was a magical moment for me and it was real treat to do this special show for my fans and be so close to them. Unfortunately at the end of the show – after I left the stage – a few thugs who were not my fans rushed the stage and started throwing plastic bottles pretending to be angry fans."

She added: "nothing can take away or ruin this very special evening for me and my fans. When I looked out in the audience, everyone I saw had a smile on their face. I look forward to having this wonderful experience again."

With two shows at the Accor Arena scheduled, she's unlikely to have the time to fit in a show at L'Olympia, but you never know.