French rock star Bertrand Cantat beat his girlfriend to death. His comeback isn’t going well

French singer Bertrand Cantat, who beat his girlfriend to death, on Monday announced he would not be performing at any summer festivals after an uproar among women’s rights activists.

More than 70,000 people had signed an online petition urging Normandy’s Papillons de Nuit festival to pull Cantat from its line-up, saying organisers were “normalising violence against women” by putting him in the spotlight.

Since then there has been pressure on Cantat to cancel a string of upcoming shows, not least as anger over violence against women has ricocheted around the world after the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

Two other festivals had decided already moved to cancel performances by the 54-year-old singer, once the idolised frontman of rock band Noir Desir.

Cantat said that while he would continue with tour dates to promote his solo album, he was calling off all festival appearances “to bring an end to this controversy and end pressure on organisers”.

The rock star killed his girlfriend Marie Trintignant, a well-known actress, in a hotel room while on tour in Lithuania in 2003.