“I don’t know what’s stopping me from beating the shit out of you.” Violence is never the best solution, even if, sometimes, there is no lack of desire. However, it is not often the reason that stops us from giving a good slap, but rather the physical aspect. Based on this observation, a service that would allow you to call on big guys to put the famous slap in your place would have every chance of being a hit. On the Internet, this exists under the name “Uber brawl”. But in real life, can we actually use such a service?
Sunday, on TikTok, the account @directedbytimtom posted a video in which the tiktoker calls a man who posted a strange ad on Le Bon Coin. In the “sport and outdoors” category, in Paris 14th, the ad offered “Uber brawl” with a “large % of success”. On the phone, there was no ambiguity, it was indeed a question of hiring the services of “Djibril, 1.90 m, 120 kg”, to resolve a problem with a so-called “colleague” of the tiktoker. The price was 50 euros in the event of Djibril’s victory, 10 euros in the event of defeat, “to cover costs”. With more than two million views in twenty-four hours, this video went viral as quickly as the ad disappeared. 20↓Minutes was able to unearth another one of the same kind, in the Cambrai sector, in the North. Also disappeared since then.
“Two guys showed up, one in a hood and one with a Covid mask”
“It seems amazing but it really exists,” explains 20 minutes Tim, the author of the TikTok video. According to him, the person he spoke to on the phone was not joking, “after the first phone call which was used to make the video, the guy contacted me several times to confirm. I ended up blocking it,” he says. If Tim came across this ad by chance, he nevertheless knew about this service: “A friend already called on ‘Uber brawl’, during a party where some guys had barged in without being invited,” recalls- he. “Two guys showed up, one hooded and one with a Covid mask,” he continues, ensuring that one tried to calm things down while the other dealt a few slaps. On his networks where he posted his video, Tim claims to have received a lot of messages from people inspired by the idea: “I think most saw it as a joke, but also that some were more serious,” he admits.
We will not be able to contact the person who posted this announcement, the “ephemeral” telephone number having been deactivated. We nevertheless tried to approach other accounts, particularly on Snapchat. In vain. Accounts, like phone numbers, appear and disappear very quickly. This is not surprising, such an activity being totally illegal according to Maître Margaux Machart, criminal lawyer in Lille: “Exceeding the framework of self-defense, as could be argued by a bodyguard, we fall into voluntary violence” , she explains to 20 minutes. If he were to settle your accounts in your place, the henchman will therefore be prosecuted for willful violence, and you, for complicity as “order giver”, specifies the lawyer. In the Penal Code, these are articles 222-1 to 222-18-3 which deal with “willful attacks on the integrity of the person”. Depending on the case, the penalty can go up to life imprisonment if the offense caused death.
While it is likely that some “Uber brawl” accounts are not hoaxes, most were just created as a joke. “After questioning all of my colleagues, no fact of this type was brought to our attention,” assures 20 minutes the Paris prosecutor’s office. So where does this joke come from? On Before 2018, nothing. It’s quite logical, since everything is gone from a sketch by comedian Redouane Bougheraba, performed for the first time that year. The Marseillais makes jokes about the Uberization of society and imagines launching an app called “Bagarreur” which would allow you to call on a guy experienced in fighting in the event of a disagreement. Certainly, the term “Uber brawl” was not mentioned at the time, but the idea was there.