The iconic Marseille singer Julien Mari, known as JUL, carried the Olympic flame to the cauldron. The lyrics of his songs, violent, vulgar and sexist, did not please Internet users.
The Olympic flame, barely arriving on French soil, was carried by three torchbearers: the swimmer Florent Manaudou, then the athlete Nantenin Keita and finally… the rapper JUL. The wildest rumors were circulating about the identity of the last bearer. Some even imagined Zinédine Zidane, the footballer, hooded and revealing his identity at the last minute. Finally, it is indeed the emblematic Marseille singer Julien Mari, known as “the J”. He was dressed in the white outfit like that of all the torchbearers, but wore a white cap backwards. Obviously delighted to be present for this ceremony, he then lit the basin, which welcomed the fire.
The rapper then performed his song “the fault”, after a journalist cried out, in front of the crowd gathered in the Old Port and Emmanuel Macron, the President of the Republic. However, although he is from Marseille, his choice as carrier was not to everyone’s taste. The price, certainly, of glory. The lyrics of his songs have been targeted as embodying a violent and marginal culture of the French suburbs.
First his valorization of the drug: “I hide the weed (nickname for the drug, Editor’s note) before customs, in smoke With my eyes closed, before customs They search you, strip you naked There’s nothing there, you can search The bag is hidden in your hair »can we hear in its title Before customs. “It is therefore this behavior that France glorifies and wishes to share”squeaks an Internet user. “With Jul lighting the Olympic flame, they confirmed what we already suspected: the new culture will be that of the cities. As with school, a huge race to the bottom…”adds another.
“Take out the stolen cross, rear up even if the wheel is veiled, firecracker in purple money, don’t undress, I’m going to rape you”he also sings in his title Takes out the stolen cross. “At a time when the movement #Meetoo is gaining momentum in France, so I am publishing the lyrics of JUL’s song ‘Sort le cross vols'”regrets another.
“A great sportsman with a platinum medal compared to Zinédine Zidane, a simple little World champion and apparently not representative enough of Marseille… capital of fashion Wesh This REALLY reminds me that we will have to go vote on June 9!!!!”roars a new Internet user.
In 2020, he published, with other rappers, the title Organized gang. It was viewed more than seven million times in less than four days, and was certified gold two weeks after its release. Among the lyrics that caused controversy for their vulgarity: “fuck your mother on the Canebière, fuck your dead in the old port”. “Resumed in unison even in the official forum”deplores a cybernaut.
“The J is the S. The flame has arrived”, commented Gabriel Attal, the Prime Minister. This phrase, frequently used by young people, means “Jules is family”. Indeed, the “J” is Jul’s initial. The S is used to talk about “blood”a great classic used among young people meaning that two people are of “the same vein”or “from the same family”. The use of this language was heavily criticized on X, as demeaning the function.
