The southern French city of Marseille has been rocked by two shocking drug-related murders this week, one of which involved the brutal killing of a 15-year-old boy who was stabbed 50 times and burned alive.
Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone described the crime as an act of “unprecedented savagery” in a city where drug-related violence has become a grim reality.
Marseille, France’s second-largest city, has long struggled with poverty and crime. In recent years, it has been the epicenter of a violent turf war between rival drug gangs, including groups like DZ Mafia and Yoda.
This battle for control over the lucrative drug market has led to a surge in violent deaths, with the number of drug-related killings in the city rising to 17 since the beginning of 2024.
The latest murder took place on Wednesday when the 15-year-old was hired by a 23-year-old prisoner to intimidate a rival gang by setting fire to the door of a competitor.
The youth, recruited through social media, was promised 2,000 euros for his part in the scheme. However, during the mission, members of a rival gang discovered him carrying a gun. In response, they brutally stabbed him and later set him on fire.
“He was stabbed 50 times and taken to the Fonscolombes housing estate, where, according to the results of the autopsy, he was burned alive,” Bessone said. A friend of the victim, also aged 15, managed to escape the horrific scene.
Two days later, on Friday, a second murder linked to the initial crime occurred when 36-year-old football player Nessim Ramdane was shot and killed by a 14-year-old boy.
Ramdane, who worked as a chauffeur to support his family, was hired by the 14-year-old to help in a revenge attack organized by the same prisoner responsible for the Wednesday killing.
The 14-year-old, accompanied by a friend, asked Ramdane to drive them to their destination. When Ramdane reportedly failed to follow their instructions, the minor shot him in the back of the head.
The teenager later claimed that the shot had gone off accidentally, but he admitted to the killing during police custody.
The two murders have once again drawn attention to the worsening situation in Marseille, where drug lords have increasingly turned to social media to recruit young foot soldiers, known as “jobbeurs,” for their operations.
These young recruits, some as young as 14, are not only selling drugs but also committing acts of extreme violence, often for modest financial rewards.
Marseille’s drug-related violence is reaching alarming levels, with officials warning of the dangerous influence drug money has on local youth.
“Young people are intoxicated by easy drug money to the point of total disregard for human life,” said Franck Rastoul, public prosecutor at the Aix-en-Provence court of appeal.
Last year, drug-related violence led to a record 49 deaths in Marseille, and the number continues to rise.
French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to launch a “XXL” crackdown on the drug gangs controlling the city’s streets, but the latest killings suggest that Marseille’s drug war is far from over.
