Songkran is celebrated in Paris, and not just once a year. For instance it happened on 19 April 2026 at Wat Pho Paris in Breux-Jouy, about 30 km south of the French capital, and again on 17 May, on a sports ground in the 10^th district of Paris under the initiative of an NGO, Khao Niao Solidarity. There was no water-gun battle, but a rainfall provided a touch of authenticity, and some participants marked the occasion by smearing white powder on one another cheeks. Visitors could browse a tropical market and a variety of stalls selling Southeast Asian street food, handicrafts, and books. The stage featured dance performances, a Muay Thai demonstration, and a traditional costume parade. For members of the Thai and Lao communities, it was a chance to reconnect with the atmosphere of home; for their French friends, it offered a taste of Lao and Thai culture.

Khao Niao Solidarity (KNS) was founded at the end of the Covid-19 pandemic by a small group of Lao, Thai, and French volunteers. It focuses mainly on humanitarian and social projects towards disadvantaged people in Laos and is open to expand its activity in Thailand. "We could expand our operations to Isaan, but we would need a local partner organization, since we mainly have contacts in Laos for projects aimed at poor communities - such as building schools", said Fabrice Mignot, a member of KNS. 

KNS Songkran festival (Photo from Khao Niao Solidarity)

The KNS Songkan festival was mentioned last May in Gavroche, a weekly newsletter serving the French speaking community primarily in Thailand and Laos. In an interview with the administration of one of France’s most prestigious institutions for language and cultural studies, the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO - better known as Langues O’), it appeared as a "cultural event", an event which sparked a controversy within the institution. 

The dispute originated three years ago when the flyer for the 2023 KNS festival was posted on the WhatsApp group of Dek Siam, a Franco-Thai student association inside INALCO. Founded in April 2023, just a few weeks before the KNS festival, Dek Siam is composed mainly by French students learning Thai, along with several Franco-Thai students. It aims primarily to promote Thai culture and traditions among the student community. 

The students who posted the flyer on WhatsApp could hardly have anticipated the consequences. Their action led to complaints being submitted to the university administration about the 2023 event - first orally in 2023 and more recently in writing in 2025. According to the complaints, the festival was a political event disguised as a cultural one and so its promotion through the student association could “seriously damage the institution’s reputation.” The complaints were filed by Paul Maurugeon, then a Ph.D. student at INALCO. He told Prachatai: "It cannot be said it's not a political event when the flyer features the logo of a political organization, the association of Thais for Democracy [founded by Thai refugees in Paris]… I told members of Dek Siam they are not allowed to use INALCO's resources to promote this event because it was political.... A member of the  People's Party speaks there every year"... It would violate the laws on public service neutrality… A member of the People's Party speaks there every year".

A show during KNS Songkran festival (Photo from Khao Niao Solidarity)

So the KNS Songkran festival was a politically charged event. What do the attendees think of it? Prachatai put the question to several of them. Surprisingly, they were unanimous in saying there was no political speech, no intervention by representatives of any political party, and no political leaflets. Mignot explained: "Political interventions would create problems for us, because we operate in Laos, where we provide humanitarian aid, and perhaps one day in Thailand as well. We don’t want any trouble, whether with Thailand or Laos". And the vice-president, Paul Lamang, confirmed: "Our role is not to promote a political party".

Therefore, no political overtone at the festival, but what about the logo of the Association of Thais for Democracy that appeared on the KNS flyer, in very small print at the bottom of the document? Asked about this, KNS secretary François Dingremont, answered: the Association of Thais for Democracy had simply helped in practical ways, such as finding a singer and arranging a Muay Thai demonstration. Because of its participation in the organization of the festival, one of their members appeared on the stage at the opening of the event, but she did not speak at any point.

And what about Dek Siam's posting of the flyer in its WhatsApp group? Did it violate any university rule or legal provision? Asked by Prachatai about the matter, the INALCO administration responded: "Unless a disturbance of public order or criminal acts are brought to its attention, it is certainly not the role of a university to monitor or pre-approve the content of communications among its students - whether or not they belong to a student organization".

Dek Siam was the target of the complaint, not KNS. KNS continues its activity and will be part of an intercultural event on 3 October in Paris, figuratively entitled "Make the weather nice". Dingrement will speak about the remarkable capacity of Southeast Asian people to make the best of difficult circumstances.