"The situation is catastrophic": in Marseille, after the shootings, families in disarray

Stephane Burgatt (correspondent in Marseille) 10:35 am, April 04, 2023

In Marseille, the violence of drug trafficking always kills. The Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, announced the sending of additional personnel in the city, in order to reinforce the action of the police after a triple shooting occurred this Sunday. The violence of drugs plagues the city of Castellas in the northern districts of Marseille. Bereaved families gathered on Monday.

"Growing up my daughter in this area, it does not reassure me"

It is a city that does not bear at first sight the stigmata of violence. A repair of the facades is underway. There are no large towers, but small buildings and some shops. However, according to a mother, appearances are deceiving: "I am 35 years old, I was born here. It has nothing to do with what I experienced. I grew up in a neighborhood where people respected each other and it became something else."

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"The situation is catastrophic, it's war. We go out, we are able to hear gunshots or maybe get shot while we have bought bread or we go to pick up our children from school. You don't feel safe. Growing up my daughter in that area doesn't reassure me. I want to move," she continues.

A youth that is wasting away

For others, after this outpouring of violence, fear is now giving way to outrage. "It's annoying to see so many young people dying like this for nothing because I think they don't even know why they died. These are things that are beyond them. It's horrible. We must react because a whole youth who is dying for nothing."

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Residents say they are distraught. One social worker summed it up: "I'm not saying the government didn't do anything, but everything that was done failed."