Paris orders criminal trial against rapper Booba over alleged cyberbullying of Magali Berdah

Paris – 08.07.2026: Investigating judges at the Tribunal judiciaire de Paris have ordered the referral to the Tribunal correctionnel against rapper Élie Yaffa, known as Booba. The 47-year-old is accused of having systematically harassed agent and entrepreneur Magali Berdah online over an extended period and of having made her the target of an online campaign. The judiciary dates the alleged acts to the period from May 2022 to June 2025. With today’s decision the criminal chamber proceedings are opened; the Paris public prosecutor’s office had already requested a trial in February 2026.

According to information so far, the allegations are based on a multitude of publications on social networks as well as on allegedly coordinated posts by third parties. Berdah has repeatedly stated that she suffered significant personal and professional consequences. The case concerns not only individual posts but also the question of whether public statements by a prominent user can be considered, under French law, as incitement to or participation in collective online harassment. The precise charges and the accompanying evidence remain largely under seal until the trial.

According to investigators, two other people are also to appear in court alongside Booba: businessman Grégory Zaoui and a woman referred to in the files as Angela C. They are accused of participating in the campaign directed against Berdah. Booba’s defense denies responsibility for threats or agitational acts by third parties and announced that it will contest the criminal attribution of individual contents. Berdah’s lawyers meanwhile said they seek a conviction and pointed to the documented harms.

As a complement to the criminal proceedings, Berdah obtained conservatory seizures in February 2026 relating to copyright claims and the artist’s account balances. These protective measures serve to secure possible civil claims and do not constitute a finding of guilt. The now-ordered trial concerns criminal law; civil claims could be examined in separate proceedings or by way of adhesion.

The case joins a series of French cases in which the judiciary is testing the boundaries and responsibilities in digital debates. In recent years courts have repeatedly ruled that indirect calls or the amplification of certain content can also have consequences when they demonstrably lead to coordinated attacks. For the forthcoming trial, evidence gathering is planned on content, timelines, technical attribution and witness testimony. No concrete trial date has been communicated by the judiciary at this time.