Overview
- Amine Kessaci published a column titled “Non, je ne me tairai pas,” pledging to continue denouncing drug networks and calling the conflict a fight to the death.
- Mehdi Kessaci, 20, was shot on Nov. 13 in Marseille by two assailants on a motorcycle, and investigators are still searching for the perpetrators.
- Authorities characterized the killing as a crime of intimidation and a turning point in narco-violence, with the victim unconnected to trafficking.
- Mehdi’s funeral on Nov. 18 took place under exceptional security, including RAID, CRS and heavy police protection, as the family and community mourned.
- After an emergency Élysée meeting, President Emmanuel Macron asked to intensify the fight against narcotrafficking with a terrorism-style approach, while Marseille’s mayor Benoît Payan reported hundreds of death threats and demanded additional police and judicial resources.