France's interior minister moves to bar Kanye West, leading the rapper to postpone Marseille concert

Kanye West has delayed his scheduled concert at Marseille’s Velodrome following reports that France’s interior minister is actively seeking to prevent the event due to the rapper’s recent antisemitic statements.

The artist, who now goes by Ye, posted on X that after careful deliberation he has decided to postpone the Marseille show until further notice, citing the need to reassess the situation.

A source close to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told AFP that the minister is "highly determined" to stop the 11 June performance and is exploring "all possibilities" to enforce a ban, including discussions with the regional prefect and the city’s mayor.

Marseille’s left‑wing mayor Benoît Payan has publicly opposed the concert, stating that the city will not serve as a platform for "hatred and unabashed Nazism". He wrote on X, "Kanye West is not welcome at the Vélodrome, our temple of living together and belonging to all Marseillais."

The controversy follows a series of provocations by the 48‑year‑old rapper, including a 2025 track titled Heil Hitler and the promotion of a swastika‑bearing T‑shirt. Major streaming services subsequently removed the song, and West later attributed his behavior to bipolar disorder in a public apology.

Internationally, the United Kingdom has already barred West from entering the country, prompting the cancellation of his headline slot at the Wireless Festival. By contrast, the Dutch migration minister, Bart van den Brink, indicated no current plans to prohibit the artist from performing in the Netherlands.

In an attempt to mitigate the fallout, West said he is willing to meet with London’s Jewish community to demonstrate genuine change, acknowledging that "words aren’t enough – I’ll have to show change through my actions."

– AFP contributed to this report