The clip showed the 25-year-old musician, real name Ruben Louis, kicking one of his two dogs three times around the head, and bore the caption “you moron”.

Timal was arrested on Wednesday morning in Champs-sur-Marne and his two dogs confiscated, prosecutors in nearby Meaux said, adding that he faced charges of “cruelty towards a domestic animal”.

Several animal rights groups, including France’s oldest, the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA) said they had filed complaints.

The latest high-profile animal cruelty case comes  after French footballer Kurt Zouma was in June sentenced to 180 hours’ community service by a British court for abusing his cat, which also came to light in a viral video.

Timal first broke through in February this year with Filtre (Filter), recorded alongside fellow rapper Gazo and which was number one in the charts  for a week in March.

The song has been played more than 52 million times on the world’s top music streaming service Spotify, and almost the same number of times on YouTube.

Five days ago, Timal released a new single, Cameleon alongside veteran rapper Booba.