"We don't change," even after six years away from the stage: it was with this song that Céline Dion kicked off a series of concerts near Paris on Saturday night, an unexpected comeback for her fans around the world and a symbol of her resilience.

Visibly overwhelmed, the 58-year-old Quebec star had to momentarily stop singing due to the emotion during this first song, in front of some 30,000 spectators gathered at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre (west of the capital), the largest indoor venue in Europe.

"These are tears of joy, of course, I am so happy to see you," she told the spectators, after blowing them kisses.

"Here we are! It was a promise. I am standing on stage, in this city that I love so much, thanks to your support, your love. Thank you, thank you so much," she added, as the crowd chanted her name.

"I clung to a faint ray of light in the distance, deep in the mountains. I believed in it, I believed in it. And here it is, the sun is here, the sun is in front of me. So, tonight, I want to sing for you, sing for myself, sing about life," she concluded, before slipping in a few words in English for her non-French-speaking fans and then continuing her show.

Dressed in a black strapless dress, she took to the stage 50 minutes late. Celebrities such as TV presenters Ophélie Meunier and Laury Thilleman, dancer Guillaume Diop, and actor Vincent Dedienne, as well as the artist's family, were crammed into the audience amidst thousands of ordinary people.

- Several hundred euros -

"It's surreal to be here! I was sure we wouldn't see her again," exclaimed Elisabeth Landry, a 38-year-old Quebecer who lives near the star's hometown of Charlemagne, before the concert.

The crowd of fans, predominantly female, sported sequined dresses or tops, glittery cheeks and t-shirts bearing the star's image or referencing her hit songs.

Since leaving Las Vegas for France at the end of August, the singer, who has sold over 260 million albums, has been busy rehearsing in preparation for this reunion.

For two weeks, she also transformed the countdown to the start of her residency into a kind of unprecedented opening act: almost daily appearances, exchanges with admirers willing to wait for her until the middle of the night in front of her palace... Not forgetting the avalanche of merchandise, from T-shirts to macarons.

With these concerts, Céline Dion faces a new major challenge, after having overcome in 2016 the death of René Angélil, her impresario, father of her three sons.

After the cancellation of his last tour in March 2020 due to the pandemic, his desire to return to the stage was thwarted by stiff-person syndrome. This incurable neurological condition has plagued him for about twenty years, but it was only diagnosed in 2022.

At the mercy of another violent episode of paralysis, she then gave alarming news about her health, then slipped away to get treatment.

The surprise was therefore total when she reappeared, two years later, on the Eiffel Tower for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics with an interpretation of Edith Piaf's "Hymne à l'amour", which elevated her to the rank of icon.

- Performance scrutinized -

The announcement in the spring of this new residency - 16 concerts by mid-October, 10 in May 2027 - produced by the American giant AEG Presents has set his fans abuzz.

But getting a ticket was like an obstacle course, with prices reaching several hundred euros, deemed prohibitive by some.

Saturday's show will begin to clear up questions about Celine Dion's ability to still perform her hits three nights a week.

The first female artist to fill the Stade de France in 1999, she nevertheless knows how to prepare for the performances that her repertoire demands.

"My Heart Will Go On" ("Titanic", 1997) and "I'm Alive" (2002) are among the essential English-language hits.

French-speaking fans particularly favor "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" and "J'irai où tu iras," two classics from her album "D'eux" (1995), created in collaboration with Jean-Jacques Goldman, her favorite songwriter. Two previously unreleased tracks were also released in 2026, a prelude to a new album.

AFP