After being blocked from entering the U.K., Kanye West is now facing a potential ban from French authorities over his antisemitic remarks. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez is exploring legal options to officially ban the American rapper from performing at a June concert in Marseille, his office confirmed to the AFP news agency on Tuesday.
The mayor of Marseille, Benoit Payan, has also made his position clear on the prospect of welcoming West in a social media post. “I refuse to let Marseille be a showcase for those who promote hatred and unapologetic Nazism,” Payan wrote on X March 4. “Kanye West is not welcome at the Vélodrome, our temple of living together and of all Marseillais.”
But as the French newspaper Le Monde pointed out, citing France’s highest administrative court, “local state authorities can only ban a concert under strict conditions, if statements at the event risk constituting a criminal offense and if public order is threatened.”
Nunez held meetings last week with the prefect of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, Jacques Witkowski, as well as Payan, to determine what can be done on a legal standpoint to block the concert.
A rep for West did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
In early April, the U.K. government blocked West from entering the country after he was booked to headline London’s Wireless Festival in July. Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that West “should never have been invited to perform” and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to fighting antisemitism, while sponsors of the festival including Pepsi dropped out. West then issued a statement saying he was open to meeting with members of the U.K. Jewish community, but the festival was ultimately canceled.
Source: variety.com
