Marseille: to fight against drug trafficking and its violence, the night brigade is strengthened

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: REMI DECOSTER / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 18:48 pm, May 05, 2023

The mayor various left of Marseille Benoît Payan deplored Friday "a war that has lasted for too long", in reference to the settling of scores that frequently mourn the city, asking for a "firm and strong" state in the face of "killers" who "no longer hide". "Every week, Marseillais lose their lives under the bullets of a war that has lasted too long," lamented the elected official at the opening of the municipal council of the second city of France: "Shootings, assassinations, executions are never news items. It's always drama."

16 drug-related deaths in 2023

Bloody violence amid rivalries related to drug trafficking is on the rise in the second city of France, with already 16 deaths since the beginning of the year according to an AFP count, mostly young men. Fourteen were killed in shootings, one was lynched to death and another found in the trunk of a burned car. "In what other city in France would misery and violence have been allowed to settle so permanently? In what other city of France would we have allowed such a spiral of violence, a war that is growing?" asked Benoît Payan, referring to "killers" who "no longer hide". "These people, we must not give them a single moment of respite," said the mayor of Marseille, calling on the State to be "firm and strong".

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"Faced with a permanently encysted evil in the city, we obviously ask the State that has accompanied us for three years to persevere in its merciless fight against drug trafficking and to redouble its efforts to get drugs out of our neighborhoods," said Yannick Ohanessian, deputy in charge of security. A further doubling of municipal police officers assigned to the city's night brigade – which had already increased from 30 to 60 officers in 2022 – was then voted by the city council. With more than 500 municipal police officers - the largest number in France - Marseille wants to reach the goal of 800 officers by 2026. "Growing insecurity, silence of the Mayor #benoitpayan despite the settling of scores... Yes, #Marseille sinks into decline, it is urgent to act! The #printempsmarseillais is the season of inaction," the right-wing municipal opposition lashed out on its Twitter account on Thursday.