Tried for incitement to violence against women, relaxed Orelsan – Le Point

The rap Orelsan he is a provocation to violence against women? No, ruled Thursday justice: the artist retried in Versailles for the texts of several songs, was released in favor of “freedom of expression”. “Orelsan is excited, relieved, very flattered,” said his lawyer Simon Tahar, hailing a “recognition of the almost absolute freedom of creation and artistic freedom” and “extremely strong terms” of the Court appeal of Versailles, “which leave no room for ambiguity.” “It’s a very big disappointment,” responded for his part Alain Weber, a lawyer for five feminist organizations pursuers rapper, denouncing text “incredibly violent” eight songs performed by the rapper, 33, whose real name Aurelian Cotentin, at a concert in Paris in May 2009.

the judges consider in their decision that “punish” these texts “would be to censor all forms of artistic creation inspired by the un- be, the confusion and the feeling of abandonment of a generation, in violation of the principle of freedom of expression. ” “The court did not judge the inspiration of an artist,” they added.

“Orelsan not embodied the characters”

The artist “never claimed” publicly “about the legitimacy of violent, sexist or provocative held by the characters in his writings he calls himself winnable ,” say judges . In addition, the court added, “a comprehensive and non-truncated listening to songs allows for qu’Orelsan does not embody her characters” and that the “distancing” between them is “obvious”. Rap is “not the only artistic movement expressed in terms of extremely brutal violence of relations between boys and girls”, yet note the judges, citing the film and prevent “It would be a serious attack on freedom of creation that want to ban those forms of expression. “

” We’ll see if we make an appeal “to the Supreme Court, added the lawyer associations bitches guard, feminist Collective against rape, national Federation for women’s solidarity in solidarity Women, French Movement for family Planning. If these words had been applied “to blacks, homosexuals, Jews, persons with disabilities, there is no doubt that we’d entered a conviction,” said the board.

“We not speak the same language “

” I agree with the struggle of the people who complained, “had assured Orelsan at the helm in December. The president added: “But we speak the same language, right?” The rapper had defended about “ironic”, well sometimes “hyper bad taste”, placed in the mouth of a “fictional character”. Associations, they had blasted texts to “women as a general category” and are said detect any “distancing” of the rapper. The Advocate General had not made any submissions.

At trial before the Criminal Court of Paris in 2013, the artist was sentenced to 1,000 euros fine suspended for some the disputed passages. The judges had considered the phrase “chicks, it’s whores” as a sexist insult. For “information about yourself dressings and strollers, I can t’faire a child and t’casser nose on a blow of head” and “shut up or you’ll t’faire marie-trintigner ( …) “Orelsan was convicted of” incitement to violence against a group of persons because of their gender. ” He had appealed and in 2014 the Paris Court of Appeal had ruled the prescribed proceedings. The Court of Cassation overturned the verdict in June and ordered the third trial.

Pursued by the association Neither whores nor submissive to the song “Dirty whore” in the heart of a lively debate in 2009, the rapper was acquitted by the Criminal court of Paris in 2012.