World

French rappers' brawl at Paris airport delays flights

Updated on: August 2, 2018 / 1:08 PM EDT / AFP

French rappers and their entourages brawl at Paris airport

Flights at a Paris airport were delayed Wednesday after a brawl between two French rap stars and their entourages. Rappers Booba and Kaaris were held for questioning after the fight.

Officials at Orly airport were forced to temporarily shut down a departures hall. Videos of the incident taken by passengers and posted on social media showed the men scuffling in a duty-free shop and the waiting lounge.

The areas were crowded with travelers at the height of the summer holiday period. Border police detained 11 people after the fracas in Hall 1 of the airport's western terminal, according to police and airport sources.

This combination of pictures made on Aug. 1, 2018, shows French rapper Booba, left, on May 19, 2014, in Cannes, France, and French rapper Kaaris on March 25, 2015, in Paris. Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images

"A small number of flights were delayed by 15 to 30 minutes at the time of the fight and the lounge was temporarily closed," Orly's operator Paris Aeroport said. The two rappers were on their way to Barcelona ahead of a concert, an airport source said.

The pair have known each other since 2011. Booba, one of France's most popular rappers, has reportedly fallen out with Kaaris in the past after he failed to support him in a dispute with fellow French artist Rohff.

French rapper Rohff speaks to the media before his trial at a Paris courthouse on Sept. 29, 2017. The 39-year-old artist, whose real name is Housni Mkouboi, appeared before the Paris Criminal Court on a charge of aggravated violence stemming from an April 2014 incident in the Parisian shop of his rival, French rapper Booba. Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images