In the project ARTIVISM (<http://erc-artivism.ch/>), funded by the European Research Council, we analyze a broad range of artistic tools, styles and means of expression, namely festive events and parades, cartoons and comics, and street art. In this article, we focus on carnivals as a festive form of resistance, wherein participants need to develop strategies of action to overcome attempts of control and repression by public authorities or Carnival foundations. In particular, we focus on the offi cial and independent carnivals in the Mediterranean cities of
Viareggio, Nice and Marseille to disclose underlying dynamics and tensions characterizing these events.