An attempt by a French MP to have native rapper Monsieur R prosecuted for making content with a violent or pornographic message available to children under the age of 18 has failed after judges threw his case out of court.
As previously reported, Monsieur R, real name Richard Makela, has courted controversy in France with anti-establishment lyrics and videos, one referring to France as a "bitch" and "slut", another comparing the French government to Germany's Third Reich. The lyrics and video of one song in particular, 'FranSSe', outraged several of the country's politicians, so much that they called for new laws to censor the country's hip hop artists. Meanwhile Makela was one of the rap artists blamed by some in French political circles for inciting the riots that hit several of the country's major cities at the end of last year.
One MP in particular, Daniel Mach, unwilling to wait for any anti-hip hop legislation proposals to work their way through the French parliament, decided to launch legal proceedings against Makela himself, citing the 'broadcasting violent or pornographic messages to minors' as the rapper's alleged crime. Had he been found guilty of the charges Makela could have fined 75,000 euro or even faced a three year prison term.
However judges in the French courts this week ruled that the case had no basis because Mach himself had not suffered any harm because of the song, nor had he evidence of any tangible victims of Makela's alleged offence. Welcoming that ruling, Makela's lawyer Dominique Tricaud told reporters: "The judges have been courageous. The judges have been courageous in their judgment because there was very strong political pressure. Two hundred deputies from the parliament asked for a special law from the parliament against the rappers. They wanted to kill the rap in France."