French rapper Doums faces new domestic violence trial on 21 October following arrest in Vitry-sur-Seine

Arrest and October hearing date

French rapper Doums, whose legal name is Mamadou Coulibaly, will stand trial on 21 October for alleged domestic violence against his partner. The 33-year-old musician was placed in police custody on Sunday in Vitry-sur-Seine, a commune in the Val-de-Marne department south of Paris. The public prosecutor office in Créteil announced the scheduled trial date on Wednesday evening, 30 September, after concluding the rapper's period in custody. Coulibaly was initially brought in for questioning over allegations of repeated threats against his spouse or partner. Following the interrogation, prosecutors allowed him to leave custody without imposing judicial supervision, handing him a formal court summons instead. The charges filed by the prosecutor specify acts of violence by a spouse or partner that resulted in a total incapacity for work of no more than eight days.

Defence challenges to police procedure

His defence attorney, Marion Coiffier, raised formal objections to the handling of the police custody and the resulting documentation. Speaking to Agence France-Presse, Coiffier stated that the initial grounds for the rapper's detention, concerning repeated threats, were not substantiated by any tangible evidence in the file. She also pointed out that law enforcement officials handed Coulibaly two different court summonses within the space of a single hour. According to the defence lawyer, the two notifications listed different legal charges and scheduled two separate court dates.

The singular nature of this procedure strikes me.

Coiffier argued that such a rapid succession of procedural changes inevitably invites scrutiny. She indicated that she is now waiting for the court to examine these materials calmly and ensure that justice is rendered.

Earlier conviction in Créteil

The new trial comes several months after Coulibaly received a criminal sentence in a previous domestic violence case in Créteil. In February, the Créteil court sentenced him to an eight-month suspended prison term following a trial conducted behind closed doors. That earlier case addressed allegations of domestic abuse against his partner between December 2022 and January 2026. Coiffier noted that the court acquitted her client of all alleged acts spanning 2022, 2023, and 2024. That case originated in January, when the partner visited the Vitry-sur-Seine police station near Paris to report an incident of domestic violence at their shared residence, which occurred in the presence of their two children and led to one day of total incapacity for work.

Additional case involving Adèle Exarchopoulos

In addition to the proceedings in Créteil, Coulibaly faces another trial in Paris over separate accusations made by actress Adèle Exarchopoulos. Exarchopoulos and Coulibaly were in a relationship until 2018 and have one son together. The actress accused him of repeated acts of domestic violence, prompting a case before the Paris criminal court. Judicial authorities in Paris recently postponed that closed-door trial to 8 February. Coulibaly's judicial record already includes three previous criminal convictions for offences involving Exarchopoulos. One conviction was handed down for domestic violence, while the other two convictions related to malicious telephone calls and electronic communications.