Made in Jamaica in Bourges

You had to set off early, coming from Paname, to reach this curiosity, where the billing promised nothing less than a line-up crammed with legendary Jamaicans – Third World, Bunny Wailer, Capleton - but also Dub Incorporation and Improvisator Dub for the French touch, and Mystic Revelation of Rastafari for a most mystical nyahbinghi grounation. The latter opened the ball in this sprawling tent that looked like a circus big top.

A great, great many people. The venue is full, nearly 6,000 heads. On average? Young and very young... Third World truly launched this marathon night, in which the poor Improvisators Dub, who played at the dawn of this endurance test, were seen by hardly anyone. A swarm of teenagers, who could just as easily have set their sights on the next day's rock stage, floods the inside and the outside. Dressed alternative, dreads mingle with blond hair in a funny mixture. Third World deliver their finale like responsible roots men, in a set that was nonetheless too often punctuated by Bob Marley medleys.

Better to get some height for "Dub Inc": you have to see the phenomenon from a distance. All of France's bouncing youth is there, waiting for them for the massive take-off of the arena. The band salutes this mixed "youth of France", turned as one towards a form of reunification. A show as we now know them, well honed by hundreds of dates (immortalised on their latest album). Undeniably the warmest welcome of the night from the crowd. People are stage-diving. From above, it's beautiful.

Capleton is eagerly awaited. The arena fills up, then roars. The raspy voice rings out. Turbaned from head to foot, all in green, galvanising in attitude, body on the attack, the Jamaican delivers a big, raw performance. The horns stayed outside, but Capleton is well and truly inside. And the crowd gives it right back to him. A triptych of That Day will come, Jah Jah City, Mashing up the earth, spared the usual pull ups, lights the fuse. The show nonetheless remains very Jamaican, with Capleton getting the crowd dancing, singing at length a cappella (with or without Jah Thunder), and even redoing his Wings of the morning from Def Jam. Great atmosphere. An hour-long set of great intensity, blessed by a jubilant and fired-up room. Not a single controversial song, even though Capleton was under close watch: a gay and lesbian rights association followed his performance attentively, accompanied by a translator, a bailiff and a lawyer.

Then comes the arrival of the patriarch, the great guarantee of the night, the link between past and present, with a superb Bunny Wailer, all in white, and a full band this time. The horns of the Solomonic Orchestra do a lot of good. Keeper of the Wailers' legacy, Bunny Wailer treats us to numerous Bob covers: entering on Rastaman Chant, Nice Time, Trenchtown Rock, Easy Skanking (and even Tosh's Legalize it) before returning for One Love and Keep on Moving. Not great for a Marley show, grumble a few. But the elder carries the show, stressing the historical lineage of reggae, from ska to dance hall, by way of rock steady. Great communion, even if it must be admitted that the scale of a festival and of this event tour "Made in Jamaica" may throw purists. All these young people nonetheless have the merit of vibrating in this great allegory of peace and sharing. Made in Bourges, it was good.