Thousands are expected to join a silent march in the southern French port city of Marseille on Saturday in tribute to 20-year-old Mehdi Kessaci, who was shot dead on 13 November.
The killing of Kessaci is being treated as an act of intimidation linked to his brother Amine’s anti-drug crime activism, and has put Marseille's long-running battle with narco-violence back at the forefront of national politics.
On Friday, government spokesperson Maud Bregeon announced she would travel to the city for the march, alongside Urban Affairs Minister Vincent Jeanbrun. She said their presence was intended to signal “the support of the State” for the Kessaci family.
She added that the visit would be carried out “humbly, with the modesty and discretion that this event requires”, adding that Mehdi’s murder had “deeply shocked all our fellow citizens”.
Her statement came the day after the Interior and Justice Ministers made their own visit to Marseille, during which they promised more magistrates and court clerks for the city, but did not specify how many.
Ministers also highlighted the anti-drug trafficking law passed in June, which includes the establishment in January of a specialised public prosecutor's office, the Pnaco, modelled on the equivalent anti-terrorism office.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who has vowed to visit the city each month, rejected criticism of national policing efforts.
“This is a war we are fighting. We are winning battles and we will continue to win battles,” he said.
Senior figures from the Greens, Socialists and Communists have also said they will join the march.
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'Give young people another option'
A stone’s throw from the prefecture where ministers met with magistrates, 24-year-old bartender Rezky told RFI he welcomed the attention, but said real change will depend on offering alternatives to the drug economy that traps so many young people in Marseille.
“Help young people, give them another option, another way out than dealing drugs, acting as lookouts or whatever,” he said. “They’re there, they’re attracted by a few quid and in the end, they end up getting murdered.”
Marseille's leftist Mayor Benoît Payan, emerging from his meeting with Nuñez, called the discussions “positive” but called for more resources.
"We need an Interpol office here. We need resources for education, for public education," he told RFI.
"Marseille is five times the size of Lyon and two and a half times the size of Paris. It's a huge city. It needs more police officers than other places. It also needs specialised police forces."
Martine Vassal, the centre-right president of the department and candidate for mayor of Marseille, also called for more action from the government.
"We need additional resources for forensic science, for the Youth Judicial Protection Service too, for those who work with children. We also need to have more resources for drug users," she said.
For Clément, another local, the solution lies in decriminalisation. "This would bring money into the state coffers, which are currently in dire need of funds."
He added: "I think that the war on drugs began in the 1970s in the United States. We haven't made any progress since then. I think it's time to open our eyes. If we allow alcohol, why not cannabis?’
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The killing of Kessaci has added pressure to the political debate around drug trafficking, with the far right calling for a state of emergency in the city.
Electoral authorities have also warned about possible interference by trafficking networks in campaign financing.
With AFP, and adapted from the original version in French by Eliza Amouret.
