GIMS is a specific kind of star in France. Not just a rapper, not just a pop artist, but someone who has successfully crossed every genre boundary in French music while maintaining a dedicated fanbase that spans generations. His Last Winter Tour at a new Paris arena was the kind of event that felt more like a retrospective than a standard concert.

Walking into the venue, the scale of the production was immediately clear. The stage design was more elaborate than most French artists attempt, with significant investment in lighting and visual effects. This matters because French rap concerts have historically been criticized for treating production as secondary to the music. GIMS was making a deliberate statement.

The show itself was extraordinary. A giant karaoke with 20,000 people who knew every lyric from every era of his career. The energy in the room during the older Sexion d’Assaut material was something different from the more recent tracks, a wave of collective memory that lifted the entire venue simultaneously.

Dadju appeared as a guest and the reunion energy was palpable. Vitaa joined for their collaborative catalogue. The show ran through a setlist that honored the full span of his career without feeling like a museum piece.

My honest rating is 9 out of 10. The production was the best I have seen from a French artist. The setlist was comprehensive and the emotional register of the evening was consistently high. The one point I withheld is for moments where the pacing slowed slightly in the middle section. But those moments were brief and the overall experience was exceptional.

To answer the question I went in with: yes, GIMS is currently the best showman in French music. I say this having seen many French concerts over the years. Nobody else is operating at this production level while maintaining this level of emotional connection with their audience.