Overview
- Kassabi died Tuesday evening, November 25, 2025, in the Paris region, according to the family’s statement relayed to AFP.
- Michel Papain, the group’s cofounder and drummer, provided the confirmation on the family’s behalf.
- Les Forbans formed in 1978 from a group of high‑school friends before breaking through nationally in the early 1980s.
- Their 1982 hit “Chante !,” a French adaptation of Ernie Maresca’s “Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out),” sold nearly two million copies.
- The band later released around ten albums, played roughly fifty shows a year in recent times, joined the Âge Tendre tour until 2014, and marked 40 years with a 2018 concert at L’Olympia.