Influencer Hachemi's “HMI tour” banned by Lyon prefecture after disturbances in city center

The Rhône prefecture has banned a gathering planned for Thursday, December 26 in Lyon by the influencer Hachemi, which included a distribution of gifts, citing a "risk of public order disturbances" following incidents that occurred during similar recent events.

The Rhône prefecture has banned a gathering with gift distribution, initially planned for Thursday in Lyon by the influencer Hachemi, due to a “risk of public disorder” after incidents during recent similar events.

As part of his “HMI tour”, the Snapchat star with 7.6 million subscribers, accompanied by YouTuber Ibra TV, had planned a “giant hide-and-seek” in the capital of the Gauls from 5 p.m., with the promise of distributing 100,000 euros in prizes such as smartphones, watches or electric scooters.

But “the previous events organized in Lille and Brussels” by Hachemi “led to the gathering of several hundred fans in the greatest disorder (…), causing serious disturbances to public order and requiring the intervention of law enforcement in degraded conditions”, noted the prefecture in a decree published on Thursday.

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1,000 young people gathered in Brussels

In Brussels, on December 23, the gathering attracted nearly 1,000 young people hoping to leave with gifts, according to the Rhône prefecture. Some had “provoked the police, made threats of vandalism, and the influencers' bus had been stoned and its windows broken”, upon his arrival, lists the order.

The location of the gathering in Lyon was to be revealed at the last minute by Hachemi, and the prefectural ban concerned all of the city's districts.

“Team, unfortunately today, I will not be able to come and treat you to Lyon”, the influencer finally posted on Snapchat after the ban, thus canceling the event while he had shown the already wrapped gifts a few moments earlier.

Several hundred fans, mostly very young, nevertheless gathered in the center of Lyon in the middle of the afternoon. A street and a bridge were partially blocked for a moment by CRS officers, who used tear gas to disperse some of them after being hit by a few projectiles, an AFP journalist noted.

“I came to meet him and why not get a gift”, explains Sajid, 18, who says he has been following the influencer for two years. “He does tours, he goes to several countries. It's funny, they go to Dubai, Morocco, always with small people”, the young man explains to AFP.

Popular since the end of 2023

The popularity of Hachemi, 29, exploded on social networks at the end of 2023 when he launched a competition on Instagram with prizes to be won such as a car, a bag or dozens of smartphones from famous brands.

He is now a successful influencer, with, in addition to Snapchat, 1.2 million subscribers on Instagram, 460,000 on TikTok, 209,000 on YouTube. He also organizes treasure hunts in Dubai and Miami, and has also founded a coaching platform for young entrepreneurs, MoulaClub.