A series of murders in Marseille sparked a political dispute involving an increasingly fierce turf war between drug gangs. Intimidate poor housing estatesOne of the most recent shooting victims was only 14 years old.
Marseille prosecutor Dominique Laurens warned this week that France’s second-largest city is facing “a very difficult time”. She described in detail the outbreak of violence and the “extreme cruelty and total lack of humanity”.
This weekend, three men were killed in a Mediterranean port city due to scores related to the local drug trade, which is believed to generate millions of euros in profits for competing cartels each month.
Marseille stands out from other cities such as Paris or Lyon because of its popularity with Kalashnikov and automatic weapons, and frequent drug-related killings and violent attacks in public to spread fear among the young people of the manor.
In the first shootout last weekend, two 25-year-old and 26-year-old men known to the police were shot and killed by at least one automatic weapon while talking on the street of a manor on Saturday night. Less than an hour later, a 27-year-old man, known to the police, was attacked by two men wearing black balaclavas near the city center and was forced to enter the car’s reserve. box.
Lawrence said the car was later set ablaze and the man was burned alive. The prosecutor said: “The autopsy showed that he was alive at the moment the car caught fire. He inhaled smoke and soot, which caused his death.”
Last Wednesday, in broad daylight, a 14-year-old boy, Rayanne, was shot and killed from behind by two motorcycles riding at least one Kalashnikov-style assault rifle. He and a friend have been eating sandwiches in one of the poorest residential areas in the city. Another 14- and 8-year-old child was injured in the attack.
Lawrence said: “We have never had such a young victim.” She said that since mid-June, the killing in Marseille has “accelerated”, and since the beginning of this year, 15 people have been killed in turf wars. Dozens of investigations into murders and attempted murders in the city are ongoing.
The murdered 14-year-old’s aunt told BFM TV that “he appeared in the wrong place at the wrong time” and was not required to find a dealer on the estate like many teenagers.
The city’s magistrate and former children’s judge Nathalie Roche told Radio France that young people are often forced to stand guard for drug dealers, and more and more. Involved in violence, Including “torture and kidnapping”, as a way for drug gangs to create fear in the community.
The Marseille Socialist Party has called for greater investment in the local judicial system. The right-wing opposition warned that crime and insecurity are increasing. French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to visit the city next week and announce an increase in funding. Renovate schools and promote educational projects.
Drug gangs are believed to fill the economic gap in this de-industrialized city. Some towers in the northern region have a 70% youth unemployment rate and a high dropout rate.
Marseille Socialist Mayor Benoît Payan stated that the drug trade has brought millions of dollars in profits to the cartel. “We are talking about people who acquire heavy weapons through the Internet,” he added.
Samia Ghali, deputy mayor of the Marseille Socialist Party, warned that young people “are facing extreme violence that even the worst novels are afraid to write”.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin stated that the state is investing heavily in policing and anti-drug operations in Marseille.
