Rapper closes French road in illegal video shoot

Blockades of French motorways are usually caused by disenchanted truck drivers or farmers, but last week it was a rapper who halted traffic.

The artist Fianso shot a clip of his new album Bandit Dirt on the A3 motorway on the outskirts of Paris last Thursday without the permission of authorities, reports Le Parisien.

Video of the clip has been posted on social media and show how his crew blocked lanes of one of the city's busiest arterial roads with an Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

Footage shows Fianso, also known as Sofiane Zermani, dressed in a distinctive white jacket, performing with the backing of a 15-strong support act. In one scene a bistro-style table has been placed on the road from which Fianso sits and drinks a coffee.

The performance held up traffic for about five minutes and left authorities fuming.

A spokesman for the local prefecture told Le Parisien: "We did not give permission".

Police were reportedly sent to the scene but when they arrived Fianso and his crew were packing up.