200 French politicians have backed a petition from one of the country's MPs calling for legal action against seven rappers and bands which he claims have fuelled the recent riots that have taken place around the country. At the very least the MP wants the named artists' music banned from having airplay on French radio stations.
MP Francois Grosdidier told France-Info Radio that he was not surprised young people had taken part in rioting in key French cities after being exposed to music which, he claims, incites violence. He told the radio station: "When people hear this all day long and when these words swirl round in their heads, it is no surprise that they then see red as soon as they walk past policemen or simply people who are different from them."
Although the violence in urban France seems to have died down, Grosdidier submitted his petition to Justice Minister Pascal Clement signed by 153 members of the lower house of the French parliament, and 49 senators. Among the French artists accused of incitement to violence on the petition are Monsieur R, Smala, Fabe and Salif and bands Ministere Amer, 113 and Lunatic. The French Justice Department said yesterday it cannot comment on the petition as yet.
Monsieur R, real name Richard Makela, is perhaps the most high profile of the artists listed, not least because he already faces a separate lawsuit launched by another conservative MP over claims his song 'FranSSe' is an "outrage to social decency". Asked about the latest attempt to ban his music, the rapper told LCI television this week: "Hip hop is a crude art, so we use crude words. It is not a call to violence."