Name: French justice minister warns of narcotrafficking threat
Uploaded: 2025-11-18T15:57:27.381Z
Duration: 1 min 54 s
Description: France’s Justice Minister described last week’s killing of Mehdi Kessaci in Marseille as a terrifying tipping point, one that should raise public awareness about the dangers of narcotrafficking.

France’s Justice Minister described last week’s killing of Mehdi Kessaci in Marseille as a terrifying tipping point, one that should raise public awareness about the dangers of narcotrafficking.

Marseille

France's justice minister has described the recent killing of Mehdi Kassassi in Marseille as a warning sign of escalating narco-trafficking and violence in the country. Prosecutors suspect the killing may have been intended as a warning, and officials note that drug-related violence is spreading into wider French society.

In a separate incident in Grenoble, a 13-year-old boy was critically injured in a shooting, with police suspecting he may have been involved in drug-related activities. Authorities are alarmed by the increasing recruitment of young people by drug traffickers, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to announce the creation of a special anti-narcotic brigade set to begin operations in January.

French justice minister warns of narcotrafficking threat

A terrifying tipping point. One that must raise awareness about narco-trafficking. That's how France's justice minister described the killing last week in Marseille of Mehdi Kassassi. The 20-year-old was the brother of a prominent activist in France, Amine Kassassi. Prosecutors fear that it may have been what they call a warning killing. And it is just one illustration of how drug trafficking and drug-related violence is seeping into French society. Another city, another shooting, just days later. It is in this quiet neighbourhood of Grenoble where the shots rang out and where a 13-year-old boy was hit three times. Once in the back and twice in the legs. Still in a coma and in critical condition, the police do not know his name. They believe he may be just one in a long list of children and teens that are used to do the dirty work of drug lords. It's residents of this neighbourhood in Grenoble that heard the altercation and called for help. How did you know it was shots and not fireworks? Well there were screams afterwards, so I stuck my head out the window to see and I saw someone on the ground. So we called emergency services. It was around 2.40 in the morning. I heard five shots ring out. I didn't know if it was fireworks or something else. Someone older was yelling because it wasn't the child who was screaming. The shooting, among other drug trafficking crimes, comes as officials fear narco-traffickers are specifically targeting isolated young people and kids by recruiting them online. Be they lost youth or teens in search of fast cash, their young age and how they're being used by traffickers is raising alarm bells in France. As part of its push to combat drug violence, Emmanuel Macron says he hopes to have a special anti-narcotic brigade up and running in January.

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