Elie Yaffa, better known as Booba, is a French singer who has enjoyed great commercial success since the early 2000s; which constitutes a tour de force in a genre – rap – where it is difficult to last. The aura of his public persona, however, goes far beyond the framework of artistic exercise. He is also known, and more unfavorably, for countless clashes which sometimes lead to physical confrontations, as during the collective fight between his friends and those of Kaaris, in 2018, at Orly airport. The prosecutor of the Créteil criminal court had described the two rappers as “petit bourgeois clashes”, but that is not at all how Booba perceives himself, and he is undoubtedly partly right.
The rapper fights all kinds of battles at the head of a digital army which has more than six million followers on scams from certain influencers he calls “influvoleurs”. It is true that many former reality TV candidates use their notoriety to sell their “community” products whose prices are inflated, often useless, or even dangerous for health.
“I am speaking in a personal capacity”
This denunciation seems so legitimate that it has inspired a desire for transpartisan regulation in the political world. In 2022, the environmentalist deputy Aurélien Taché tabled a bill to punish scams of this type, while, under the leadership of Bruno Le Maire, Parliament adopted in June law no. 2023-451 “aimed at regulating commercial influence and to fight against the excesses of influencers on social networks. Difficult to assess Booba’s role; The fact remains that he was invited by the senators to a hearing at the Luxembourg Palace to discuss this subject. He did not follow up, moreover, arguing that he was not seeking to engage in politics.
The rapper defines himself as a “pirate” – he claims the black skull and crossbones flag. He uses this term figuratively, and one wonders if it would not be appropriate to understand it literally. This is how the judge who has just indicted him for aggravated moral harassment of Magali Berdah, who founded an agency dealing with influencers, risks interpreting it. The rapper is accused of no less than 487 messages, and – even more serious – the fact that he made the address of the entrepreneur’s children’s school visible to more than four million people. Booba is said to have declared during his interrogation: “I am speaking in a personal capacity. What happens afterwards, I do not consider myself responsible.” There, the problem lies. It is hard to believe this total lack of lucidity in matters of responsibility. We rather imagine that the “pirate” considers here that the end justifies the means.
Uncontrollable cohort
The purpose of this column is not to resolve this moral dilemma, but to understand what it conceals. In reality, if the rapper set out to make this denunciation, it is because there was a legal void which has since, perhaps thanks to him, been filled. However, the title of “whistleblower” that he claims is perhaps a little overused. It seems to me that his action is similar to that of individuals who, disappointed by the inaction of the State, take it upon themselves to do justice: militias of sorts. It seems to me that we are faced with a situation that goes beyond the scope of news items. Indeed, the digital space has introduced significant disruptions to social life, for better and for worse. These reveal unprecedented situations in the face of which States are sometimes powerless. They often seek to react, as Europe did with the noted Digital Services Act, but they cannot always do so. The political vacuum left thus, and the abuses it authorizes, favors somewhat blind initiatives for expeditious justice, even if they may be well intentioned.
Having a large digital community at your fingertips gives you the status of a local lord who can punish or reward. In this context, we never express ourselves “in a personal capacity”, because we know that our speech only has power carried by an uncontrollable cohort. Moreover, in this case concerning Magali Berdah, 28 other people, supporters of the rapper Booba, will be judged.