French rappers get suspended sentences, fines for destructive airport brawl
The prosecutor said the rappers acted out of fear of ‘becoming the laughing stock of their entourage but also of the internet’
The fracas between bitter rivals Booba and Kaaris in a duty-free shop at Orly airport on August 1 went viral after bystanders filmed the fight on their phones.
The court also fined them both €50,000 (US$57,000), while nine members of their entourage involved in the fight were handed suspended sentences of up to 12 months in jail.
The rappers, who were on their way to a concert in Barcelona when the fight broke out, have waged a feud on social media for years, with users often urging them to settle their differences with their fists.
Booba, whose real name in Elie Yaffa, launched the first kick but it was Kaaris, aka Okou Gnakouri, who squared up to his opponent, prompting members of their entourages to get involved, the prosecutor told the court in Creteil in the southeastern suburbs of Paris.
“Under the gaze of passengers and social media, this encounter could only end in physical confrontation,” the prosecutor said, adding that each rapper had created public personas that were “strong”, “violent” and “excessive”.