Marseille – President Emmanuel Macron is to visit Marseille on Tuesday. In the wake of the murder of 20-year-old Mehdi Kessaci, brother of anti-drug activist Amine Kessaci, last month, Macron plans to make the fight against drug trafficking the focus.
Macron will address the issue of drug crime in Marseille at a debate organised by the daily newspaper La Provence, having spent the last few weeks touring the country to meet with readers of regional papers to discuss the issues concerning them – from social media regulation and disinformation to the cost of living crisis.
The visit was scheduled following the killing of Mehdi Kessaci, who was shot dead as he parked his car in the city centre on 13 November – targeted due to his brother Amine Kessaci's activism against drug trafficking.
Amine began campaigning following the murder of his older brother Brahim, then 22, whose body was found in a burnt-out car. Amine founded the organisation Conscience, which aims to expose the damage done to working-class communities by drug-dealing gangs.
He told French newspaper Le Monde that he was recently warned by police to leave Marseille because of threats to his life, and that he had attended Mehdi's funeral wearing a bullet-proof vest and under heavy police protection.
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Mehdi's murder has put drugs back at the top of the political agenda. Over the past month, Macron has chaired two ministerial meetings to speed up the implementation of a new law against drug trafficking, which is considered a threat equivalent to terrorism.
On his visit, the president will also attend the inauguration of an extension to the Baumettes prison, and that of a new police station.
In 2021, Macron launched a grand regeneration plan for the Mediterranean port city, pledging €5 billion to improve housing, transport and dilapidated schools, as well as to make the streets safer from criminal gangs and drug dealers.
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Low expectations
Despite such promises, RFI's Marseille correspondent Zoé Cottin reports that many residents expect little to come out of this latest visit.
In the city's 3rd arrondissement, near the Félix Pyat housing project, a drug-dealing hotspot, a CRS riot police van is parked by the National metro station.
"They're putting CRS everywhere," says Michel, a local resident. "Does that change anything? No. They're not tackling the root of the problem, just skimming the surface."
Robin, another local, says the president's visit is merely a media stunt, and won't change anything.
"They've been here many times before: elected officials, presidents, prime ministers and justice ministers. They've made lots of announcements, but we can see that over the years, even decades, nothing has changed. We're a bit defeatist."
He believes the first step should be to invest in public and social structures.
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Mélissa, a medical assistant, agrees. She says that even with additional police on the ground – something the government recently pledged – drug networks will simply rebuild themselves.
For her, above all young people need to be offered alternatives.
"I think the northern districts of Marseille are neglected and don't have enough community centres. Young people go down that path because they don't have anything else to do for fun. They don't see any other options. All they see is drugs."
This article was adapted from the original version in French.
