Gims

After forty-eight hours in police custody, Gims was formally placed under investigation in Paris on 27 March 2026 for aggravated money laundering and money laundering by an organised group in a major international investigation into cash-disbursement operations estimated at several hundred million euros. He was released under judicial supervision.

Attribution

Directly implicated

In « Thémistocle », released in late 2022, Gims rhymed the name of Rwandan President Paul Kagame with « swastika ». Other remarks reported in a documentary, referring to « hatred of a Tutsi », were subsequently cited by Rwandan authorities and organisations in condemning what they regarded as hostile rhetoric.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

In August 2024, Gims and his then partner, Demdem, filed a complaint against Booba alleging years of psychological harassment and cyberharassment. The investigation concerned, in particular, attacks targeting their private lives and Gims's appearance. In October 2025, Booba was formally placed under investigation for aggravated harassment of Demdem, but not of Gims.

Attribution

Protagonist is the victim

The charity concert « Solidarité Congo », in which Gims was due to perform at the Accor Arena, had been scheduled for 7 April 2025, the international day of commemoration of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The date caused outrage among organisations and Rwandan authorities, after which the City of Paris and the police prefect requested its postponement. The concert was rescheduled for 22 April.

State of the evidence

Documented

In a lengthy YouTube interview, Gims claimed that pyramids in the Kingdom of Kush had been topped with structures used to conduct electricity and also referred to African knights tens of thousands of years ago. The claims were widely condemned as pseudo-historical.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Gims explained that he had refused, for political reasons, to participate in the concert organised in Kinshasa during Emmanuel Macron's visit in March 2023. The Élysée and organisers gave a different account, referring to financial and logistical conditions put forward by his entourage.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

In July 2023, Gims cancelled his appearance at the Urban Music Fest in Djerba to protest against the treatment of sub-Saharan migrants abandoned or turned back at Tunisia's borders. The decision prompted a public response from the organising committee, which was surprised by the cancellation and had to change its programme.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Gims, who arrived in France as a child, applied for French citizenship from 2013 onwards and received an administrative refusal several years later. He publicly described his lack of French citizenship as one of his greatest regrets and announced his intention to submit a new application.

State of the evidence

Disputed

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

In early 2022, Gims asked Muslims on Instagram to stop wishing him a happy new year, celebrating Christmas or his birthday, considering these practices incompatible with his religious beliefs. His remarks triggered a political and media outcry, particularly in the context of his wish to become a naturalised French citizen.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

A former manager of Monstre Marin Corporation, the record label founded by Gims, was convicted in 2021 of defrauding Universal Music of nearly 300 000 euros through invoices for services that had not been provided between 2014 and 2016. Some false invoices concerned, in particular, a « Djuna Family » album project linked to Gims.

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist is the victim

In 2018, Gims, Vitaa, Dadju, Slimane and Naestro released a pop/R&B cover of « Bella Ciao ». The very loose translation of the lyrics and commercialisation of a song associated with the Italian anti-fascist resistance attracted widespread criticism.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Shared responsibility

Photographer and director Charlotte Abramow accused the music video for « La Même », by Gims and Vianney, of reproducing the aesthetic, structure and certain types of portraits from one of her videos released a few weeks earlier. She published a comparative montage that fuelled online controversy.

State of the evidence

Alleged

In 2010, Sexion d'Assaut, of which Gims was a leading member, experienced a wave of concert cancellations and removals from programmes following homophobic statements attributed to Lefa and criticism of some of the group's earlier lyrics. In particular, seventeen of twenty-two concerts on one tour were cancelled.

State of the evidence

Documented