French Interior Minister Laurent Nunes is "very determined" to ban the concert of Kanye West scheduled for June 11 in Marseille due to the American rapper's antisemitic remarks, sources close to the minister said.
The minister is considering "all options" to prohibit the sole concert of the famous rapper in France. On April 7, the British government announced that it had banned West, who was expected to headline the Wireless music festival in London in July, from entering the United Kingdom because of his antisemitic statements in recent years.
Following this decision, the festival organizers announced the cancellation of his participation. The Dutch government, on the other hand, has emphasized that it will not ban his concerts scheduled for early June.
According to associates of the French interior minister, Nunes discussed banning the concerts with the regional governor and the mayor of Marseille during his visit to the city last week.
In early March, the left-wing mayor of the city, Benoit Payan, declared his intention to oppose the rapper's performance in his city. "I refuse to allow Marseille to become a showcase for those who promote hatred and shameless Nazism. Kanye West is not welcome at the Velodrome (the stadium where the concert was to be held), the temple of coexistence and all the residents of Marseille," he emphasized.
In contrast, the Netherlands has no plans to ban the rapper's concerts on June 6 and 8, arguing that there must be a potential risk to public order or national security to ban someone from entering the country, according to Minister of Asylum and Immigration Bart van den Brink.
West, now known as Ye, has been criticized in the past for antisemitic comments and praise of Nazism, which have led to the blocking of his social media accounts, including his X accounts.
Ye has held concerts in the United States and Mexico City this year. However, he was banned from entering Australia last July after releasing the song "Heil Hitler," a song that admires Nazis. He also advertised a sweatshirt with a swastika for sale on his website.
The 48-year-old rapper has lost many fans and numerous commercial contracts in recent years due to his antisemitic and racist statements.
In January, he published a full-page article in the Wall Street Journal asking for forgiveness, attributing his behavior to undiagnosed brain damage and untreated bipolar disorder.
He also apologized for previous expressions of admiration for Adolf Hitler and the use of swastika imagery.