Justice validates the ban on the concert of rapper Freeze Corleone in Lille

The administrative court of Lille validated in summary proceedings, Thursday February 15, the ban by the prefecture of the concert of the controversial rapper Freeze Corleone which was to be held the same evening at the Zénith of the city, highlighting the “calls for violence” in several songs. Targeted by an investigation for “apology of terrorism”, the rapper contested during another hearing, early Thursday afternoon before the administrative court of Lyon, the ban on another of his concerts, scheduled for Saturday at the Tony-Garnier hall.

The administrative court of Lille ruled “the risk of disturbances to public order (…) sufficiently established so that the ban pronounced by the prefect of the North does not pose a serious and manifestly illegal attack on freedom of expression”according to a press release issued by the institution.

The Council of State will be seized

The court notes that “several songs that Freeze Corleone was to perform during his concert include calls for violence which are likely to incite hatred or discrimination against named people.” Seized in summary proceedings, he recalled that, in the past, the rapper did not respect commitments made before the administrative justice not to sing certain songs.

“We make a disparate sampling of comments that can shock the bourgeoisie”, the rapper’s lawyer, Sanjay Mirabeau, protested at the hearing Thursday morning, just a few hours before the concert scheduled for 8 p.m. at the city’s Zénith. After the decision, he announced that he was going to refer the matter to the Council of State, despite the short time remaining before the start of the concert.