Marseille is a nasty place. Many street crews competing for drug dealing spots and networks.

Historically, Marseille was run by the Corsicans and the French connection guys. they're still here but they focus on extorting businesses, nightclubs and restaurants in the greater Marseille area as well as high quantity cocaine and heroin shipment. They let the streets to the Northern Africans.

In the early 2000's, the Northern Africans tried to push on the Corsicans and they even killed one of them. The Corsicans retaliated ruthlessly sending a commando of 10 hitmen to kill the Northern African Boss and his lieutenants; That's probably the biggest mob hit ever seen in France. Imagine sending 10 shooters in the city centre of the one of the biggest city in the country. The Northern Africans never tried anaything against the Corsicans after that.

There are also still many Greek and Italian influences, but today it's mostly maghréb.

Marseille is gritty, but it has also certain charm, romantic image.

The Greeks have not been near the top in Marseille since the late 2000s, but still have two good gambling locations in Marseille and a nearby suburb, as well as some good pull in smuggling in the port. The drugs that the gangs sell are from the Corsicans, Albanians, Georgians, Ukrainians just name a few. The Calabrians are into export/imports, construction and real estate, maybe involved but nothing concrete. This has been going over ten years now. The suppliers find reasonable dealers, who in turn bring young immigrants in there networks, which is easy considering that France gives only a limited fund to social workers who only see a person every few months which is not helpful, and in that time frame nothing good is coming to the immigrants and their families so they take up stealing, dealing drugs, and smuggling. A couple of the neighborhoods are so bad that emts have to have a police escort just to get in if they are lucky to even get in the residence.

it seems that the biggest bosses are almost all Algerians nowaday

https://youtu.be/lizHqpLtHcg

Because of the french rap street scene.
Many fans from Quebec and France always try to compare the street scene of Montreal and Marseille/Paris.

Recently there is also an influx of "Voyageurs" or "Traveller" gangs in Paris, Marseille, Grenoble, and Montpellier. The gypsy hubs are in the Camargue and the Étang de Berre regions in Southern France.

The teen hitmen bragging on Instagram about kills in Marseille drug wars. High death toll has prompted gang leaders to recruit ever younger helpers, whom some experts dub disposable ‘Kleenex killers’

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lfs3o

Marseille: nearly 50 deaths linked to drug trafficking in 2023
Published on 12/21/2023 at 08:45 | Updated 12/21/2023 at 09:54

Both the victims and their killers are getting younger and younger.


The Marseille public prosecutor unveils the 2023 report on narcobanditry on Thursday, December 21. Nearly 50 people have died this year in the Marseille city.

Drug trafficking has never caused so much bloodshed in Marseille. Nearly 50 people have died this year, according to provisional figures, many of them teenagers and at least four collateral victims.

Since January, 47 people have lost their lives there, according to an AFP count . Much more than the two previous “records” of 2022 and 2016, which left around thirty dead.

The public prosecutor of Marseille, Nicolas Bessone, reveals during a press conference Thursday, December 21 at 5 p.m., the results for the year 2023 “of narchomicides and narcobanditism”.

“90% of homicides linked to trafficking this year are the consequence of the vendetta between two clans who kill each other ,” explained the Bouches-du-Rhône police chief, Frédérique Camilleri.

“The two leaders of these criminal organizations are not on site but probably abroad, so that they are difficult to neutralize by the services or their enemies ,” confided Dominique Abbenanti, the head of the Marseille judicial police, clairvoyant there the explanation of “these conflicts (which) drag on forever” .

> ALSO READ. Drugs in Marseille: “We are in a situation that is starting to resemble chaos”

Killed “in her room, in her pajamas”
In this war for the 91 deal points still present in France's second city, which can bring in several tens of thousands of euros per day, a new form of crime has appeared, and a term: "narchomicide", invented by the former prosecutor of Marseille.

The victims are increasingly younger, like their killers, a phenomenon that is found elsewhere in Europe. “Hit killers whose recruitment is carried out via social networks” , supports an investigator, on condition of anonymity. These teenagers from all over France are attracted by the mirage of easy money but often find themselves trapped in a spiral of debt to the more or less fictitious network, violence and even torture. When they don't die.

In 2023, the toll is very heavy. There are four collateral victims, including the student Socayna killed in September . “My daughter was shot in the head in her bedroom, in her pajamas. Who can explain this? » , called out his mother, Layla.

> ALSO READ. Actor Dylan Robert, César for Most Promising Actor, indicted for murder

A “Mexicanization” of Marseille
In recent weeks, several raids have taken place, notably at the beginning of December, when around twenty people "likely to belong to the DZ Mafia" , one of the two clans, according to the prosecution, were indicted and a dozen imprisoned.

In the corridors of the courthouse, some speak of the beginning of "Mexicanization" , others evoke the Camorra in Naples at the beginning of the 2000s. The Marseille prosecutor, Nicolas Bessone, advocates the creation of an offense of mafia association .

“Crime is not out of control, but it is not under control either ,” believes Jean-Baptiste Perrier, professor of private law and criminal sciences at the University of Aix-Marseille.

The DZ Mafia, a French drug enterprise turned criminal brand with mafia ambitions

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/ar...rand-with-mafia-ambitions_6729907_7.html

The Algerians have to be among the most blood thirsty in Europe today.

In terms of murders they're definitely up there. The vast majority of the drug corners in France are controlled by Algerian gangs. DZ Mafia is more like a youth gang and they're most likely running the corners and enforcing for one of the main crime families from the Marseille banlieues. Well-known families are for instance Tir, Berrebouh, Remadnia, Nabti... (who have roots in Khenchela, in the Aures region of Algeria) or Djeha and Meziani (who have roots in Tizi Ouzou, in the Kabylia region of Algeria). The Algerians are especially dominant in the cannabis and hashish business in France.

Corsicans are more active in corruption, business infiltration, poker machine rackets, extortion, armed robbery, fraud... They import narcotics as well, but they don't run the huge drug dealing networks.

In Paris, traditionally the Hornec crime family - a clan of Yenish gypsy origin with a huge network - ran the same kind of rackets the Corsican groups run in the south of the country. Last year a few young Hornec members were busted for a large gold theft racket. Alain Delon was allegedly a good friend of the older Hornec members.

in Italy Corsican groups would be charged with mafia-type association

according to Saviano DZ mafia is actually stronger than Cosa Nostra

Yeah no...that's not even remotely true lol. "DZ Mafia" is basically France's version of a major street gang and as far as gangs go they are definitely very well organized and they are definitely extremely violent. They are not even nearly as entrenched as Cosa Nostra is and while Algerian gangsters in Marseille and Paris have to a relatively minor extent infiltrated businesses and even local politics, it's not even close to the networks of Cosa Nostra - even in its current state.

Saviano tends to make absolutely outlandish claims whenever he craves attention.

I'm agree, furthemore the most powerful criminal groups in France are supposed to be the Corsican clans

Saviano's claim did a lot of buzz in France, especially when he said France is 50 years late in fighting against the Mafia. He is not wrong, we're only starting to get the law enforcement tools to go after Mafia type organization.

The big issue right now in France is the Corsican mafia. There has been a lot of killing lately in Corsica. Ironically, Corsica has the highest murder rate in France and maybe in Europe (per capita) but Corsica has also the lowest petty crimes rate in France. It's typical of a Mafia territory : mob guys killing each other but otherwise no criminality at all. Because every businesses and every area are under the control of a Mafia clan so people don't steal or don't do anything bad because then you'll have to deal with the local clan.

This week, the trial of one of the biggest Corsican mafia started. It was revealed that the clan used Chinese businessmen to launder millions of euros. The amount of money they were generating and the sophistication of their network is unheard of for a French OC group.

It feels that for the first time, the French public and the French authorities understand that the Mafia is not just an issue for our Italian neighbours.

perhaps Saviano just wanted to encourage France to undertake a tougher fight against criminal organisations

LOL the DZ Mafia is nothing like traditional organized crime like Cosa Nostra, Triads, Russian Mafia, Yakuza, Penoze, Corsican milieu etc...

yes, i'm agree, they underestimate Cosa Nostra too much nowadays, DZ mafia is a young organization but not even close to be deeply rooted like the organizations you mentioned, I'm surprised Saviano thinks it

Saviano is right if he said they are more dangerous, but that is not the same as powerful.

he just said that it's stronger; to say this Saviano based himself only on the number of murders, for that matter the DZ mafia kills even more than Ndrangheta and Camorra at the moment, but there are many other parameters to consider

Right now, Corsica has the highest murder rate per capita in Europe : https://www.corsenetinfos.corsica/L...fois-plus-eleve-qu-en-Sicile_a82588.html

The chance of getting killed in Corsica is 6 times higher than in Sicily for example.

Everybody is talking about the DZ Mafia but the big issue right now in France, as far as OC is concerned, is the Corsican Mafia. They're killing people all over the place. A couple of weeks ago, a 18 years old girl was killed in Corsica while driving her boyfriend's car.

I don't know the DZ and can't speak to how strong they are but Saviano always sensationalizes whatever he's writing about.