Two teenage murders highlight the crisis in Marseille

Marseille is experiencing a wave of drug-related violence after two shocking murders involving teenagers, underscoring the city’s ongoing battle against organized crime.

Last week, a 14-year-old boy killed a taxi driver in a botched revenge operation linked to the brutal murder of a 15-year-old. Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone has expressed concern about the way drug lords recruit young boys to commit murders ‘without any remorse or reflection’.

At a press conference on Sunday, Bessone described the “unprecedented brutality” surrounding the 15-year-old’s murder, which was linked to a gang conflict involving the “DZ mafia” and the “blacks.” Prosecutors revealed that a member of the DZ mafia, currently imprisoned, had hired the younger boy for €2,000 ($2,192; £1,676) to intimidate a rival by setting his door on fire.

However, the plan went awry when the boy was ambushed by members of the Blacks gang, who discovered a gun on him. He was brutally attacked and received fifty stab wounds before being burned alive in the Fonscolombes residential area. A friend who accompanied him managed to escape.

Two days later, the captured DZ mafia member recruited a 14-year-old via social media in revenge, promising him €50,000 ($55,000; £42,000). However, the mission went tragically wrong when the boy shot dead 36-year-old taxi driver Nessim Ramdane because the driver refused to wait while he carried out the attack.

After the incident, the captured person contacted authorities to report the shooter. The young suspect admitted to the shooting but claimed it was an accident.

Public prosecutor Franck Rastoul of the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal highlighted the growing problem of drug-related violence, noting that young people become “so intoxicated by easy drug money” that they show “total disregard for human life.” Tragically, young people often fall victim to this dangerous trade.

In previous incidents, violence has claimed more young lives; for example, in 2021 a 14-year-old boy was shot outside the Les Marronniers residential area, injuring two other children aged 14 and eight.

This year, French authorities launched a major crackdown on drug trafficking in Marseille, resulting in 627 arrests, the seizure of 450kg of cannabis and the recovery of €1.6 million ($17.5 million; £1.3 million) in cash .

The recent murders bring the total number of drug-related murders in Marseille to seventeen since the start of 2024, prompting urgent calls for action as the city seeks solutions to this rising wave of violence.

Credit: BBC news