Rap brawl delays flights at Paris airport

[ORLY, France] Flights at one of Paris's busiest airports were delayed Wednesday after a brawl between two of the biggest stars of French rap and their entourages.

Booba and Kaaris were held for questioning after the fight, which forced officials at Orly airport 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, which were crowded with travellers at the height of the summer holiday period.

Border police detained 13 people after the fracas in Hall 1 of the airport's western terminal, according to police and airport sources.

"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 incident is the latest shot fired in a long-running feud between rival French rappers.

The pair have known each other since 2011 but 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.

Rohff was sentenced in November to five years in jail for aggravated assault in a clothes boutique owned by yet another rapper, Unkut.

Booba, whose often raw and violent tracks evoke life on the street in the Paris suburbs, has sold more than 2.5 million records. Kaaris, who has four studio albums to his name, has sold more than half a million records.

AFP