The playful smiles have given way to frown eyebrows. Since September 8, the Streamers Byilhan and Nico have been walking every day to join Paris, from Montpellier. During the Zevento, the Zerator charitable marathon that raised 16 million euros for associations, the two content creators presented a challenge: traveling more than 870 kilometers on foot.
Labu on the bag, Bob screwed his head and walking with sticks in his hand, the duo travels between 30 and 50 kilometers per day. The whole matter, for the delight of their communities in the millions of subscribers who follow their epic live on Twitch, 24 hours a day. “This live is a month since I prepare it,” said Byilhan. “Montpellier-Paris in the transmission requires preparation. (…) It cost me ultra dear.”
THE “2BE3” OF 2025
Except that the influencer had forgotten a (mild) detail … its popularity. While the duo walks along the roads, their subscribers do not hesitate to dock them. In the garden or Drôme, your coming creates crowds. Fans, often young people, fall to claim a selfie or dedication. And some do not hesitate to get in danger.
The subscribers were arrested by the police or finished in the trench for a simple photo. Others have fun throwing eggs, water pumps or bottles in both serpentines.
The case of Byilhan and Nico is far from being isolated. On September 13, the Asian Fast Food Brand Krouusty Sabaïdi announced on social networks the free distribution of 1,000 dishes in the presence of Salvatore influencer rates, followed by almost 500,000 subscribers on Instagram. An explosive combo that led 3,000 fans to move. The event quickly went to the riots, requiring police intervention.
“Ten years ago, we could observe the beginnings of these movements of the crowd,” observes for us Solène Juredieu, director of the Client Development Center within the Reech agency. “Some beauty youtubes organized themselves at a fairly spontaneous meeting of meetings with their subscribers, without always imagining the scope of the enthusiasm that could arouse.”
Since then, the popularity of content creators has exploited. When impressing the edge of the border between private and public life, web stars have created a close relationship with their fans, which have the impression of knowing them intimately. This necessarily the attachment of a route translates into what sociologists call “parasocial relationships.”
Large security devices …
To the point of reaching the hands to obtain a selfie or touch their favorite content creators. Last December, the Snapchat star, Nasdas, bought hundreds of fans during a promotional event in Bordeaux. Several fans have tried to force the entrance, others lengthened along the way. Quickly, the situation degenerated. Batts exploded and several young people were injured.
“Camarographers can no longer underestimate the size of the events they organize,” insists the expert. “The ecosystem has professionalized,” Complete Solène Juredieu. “Unlike ten years ago, creators are accompanied by agents responsible for developing their careers and guaranteeing their safety.”
Therefore, brands and video agents align the zeros to guarantee the safety of their subscribers, and administer this enthusiasm sometimes without limits. The Reech agency where Solène Jurdieu works, for example, has organized several signature sequences with Staining in the Carmila shopping centers, on the occasion of the launch of its comic strip. Then a device had been established, in close collaboration with the YouTubeur team, to welcome the thousands of expected youth.
“Before its arrival, each center had to warn all its security teams. For weeks, we have multiplied the meetings, we planned the installation of barriers, created routes to manage the flows … Sometimes the police came to supervise the multitude outside,” recalls Solène Juredieu. In some cases, the agency caused several cars to leave at the same time to prevent influencer was identified. “We can get there,” the expert smiles. “Some people are ready to do anything to see it closely, which can become dangerous for everyone.” A device worthy of a true James Bond.
… that do not avoid some hiccups
Impressive devices … but not always effective. “Despite the last minute ads, fans manage to mobilize (…) and even when the events are in registration, they come spontaneously,” says Stéphanie Laporte.
This is what happened with HMI, last December. The Snapchat star organized a series of gift distributions in several French cities and in Brussels. Total amount of profits: 100,000 euros. But in the face of the overflows that took place during calls before Lille and Brussels, Rhône’s prefecture had decided to prohibit demonstration, due to the “risk of public order disorders.”
However, Snapchat star carefully avoided announcing the event in advance. The date, the place and the time were communicated only a few seconds before the distribution. “I hoped to see 30 people in front of me. I really didn’t realize the power of social networks,” he acknowledges with Tech & Co, the influencer who had not thought of preventing the prefecture.
The content creator is categorical: in the future, he will reserve rooms to “put security in the heart of his next concepts.” Therefore, for the clash, their event where the candidates of the HMI house compete in the Seine Musical this Saturday, “a security guard for 5 people present is planned.” “HMI Tour, we will never see it again. But other similar concepts in concert halls, or comedy clubs, why not,” he said.
“I found two fans in my living room”
Even apart from the events, popularity shedding light on these network stars is still difficult to drive. Many of them alpue on the street or in their workplace. For example, in Webedia, where many cameramen work, children concentrate in front of the locals. Every Wednesday, “there are dozens of children who expect to see Staing or Michou, it is hell,” said a Tech & Co employee last January.
Some fans go even further. Some intelligent people have fun with “SNIP” influencers. The term, apparently barbarian, designates the subscribers that track the position of their stars to find them. A phenomenon of the United States, which is beginning to arrive in France. In some extreme cases, a simple photo of a shared story in history or a panel in the distance in a Vlog allows malicious people to identify the home of content creators.
This is what happened to HMI. During a shooting in Thailand, a subscriber managed to go to the island where the content creator was. “I had analyzed the island’s reliefs on my snapshots and found it on Google Maps,” he laughs.
“The subscribers have already come to play at home at four in the morning,” said HMI. “One day, when I returned, I met two fans in my living room … They had found my address looking at one of my stories where we saw one of my windows.” A little surprised, the cameraman takes the time to “eat a little with them” and take some photos. The influencer still makes a radical but logical choice, moving to a safer residence.
Bodyguards, mobile and dyed windows
Like HMI, content creators take their precautions. “The influencers are forced to share certain deferred stories or pay attention to what they show in their sets and videos to avoid multitude movements in their work or homes,” warns Stéphanie Laporte.
In their privacy or an event, many move with an agent, responsible for their safety or several bodyguards. Amixem, at the departure at the Astérix Park last week, could count on its bodyguards to avoid being apart with each attraction crossing.
For his part, Mastu had explained that several subscribers harassed him at his home in 2022. The young people had fun following him to his house. The cameraman was forced to live closed blinds to avoid being. On the other side of the Atlantic, the number one of YouTubeur Mrbeast made the decision to dye the windows of his car, after being followed for three long minutes by a subscriber. “It’s not as if they had recognized me during an event. They recognized me through my window,” he insists, with Dexerto.
Most of the subscribers “lurk” their network stars to obtain a selfie, a treasure so coveted by generation Z. “When you take between 50 and 400 photos in one afternoon, you want to rest. So sometimes you have to explain them. But it is still love. These are people who support me, it is thanks to them that I am there today,” Tempers HMI.
But the “snip snip” has not escaped the attention of malicious people. In recent years, more and more cameramen have been the objective of robberies. Last example with staing. In November 2024, the YouTubeur revealed that he had been the victim of two robberies a few months apart, one of them in his parents’ old house. Again, only one solution: install cameras and hire a bodyguard.
Source: BFM TV
