French rappers cause commotion

Two of France’s biggest rap stars were released on bail on Thursday after a brawl between their entourages forced a partial shutdown of a Paris airport.

The rumble between bitter rivals Booba, left, and Kaaris in the departures hall of Paris Orly Airport in France three weeks ago was filmed by holidaymakers on their phones, as the two groups fought in a duty-free shop.

A judge later ordered that the rappers and nine of their followers be locked up until September 6 because of the “persistent animosity between the two groups”.

But an appeal court in Paris on Thursday overruled the decision, setting bail at €30 000 (R499 000) for the two artists, who were also ordered to stay away from each other and to hand over their passports.

The two rappers, who were on their way to a concert in Barcelona when the fight broke out, have waged a feud over social media for years.

Other users have often mocked the duo and called on them to settle their differences with their fists.

Airport bosses said the brawl had “endangered the lives of others”, and lodged a public-order complaint against 41-year-old Booba and Kaaris, 38, after the ruckus forced officials to temporarily shut down the departures hall.

The rappers have been held in solitary confinement in separate jails near Paris since the fight on August 3.

At the court hearing, their lawyers argued that they should never have been held in prison for so long.

In documents seen by AFP, Booba told the police that the bad blood between the former friends began “a long time ago... with little verbal stabs” before it degenerated into violence. –