Overview
- Marseille firefighters discovered the body while responding to a vehicle fire around 11:20 p.m. on Jan. 1 on Avenue des Arnavaux in the north of the city.
- A police source confirmed the corpse was severely burned.
- The modus operandi points to a possible assassination tied to narcotics, a lead that remains unconfirmed and would be the first suspected drug killing of 2026 in Marseille if validated.
- The victim has not been publicly identified and the inquiry is ongoing.
- Coverage references a similar Christmas case in nearby Septèmes-les-Vallons involving a burned stolen car and notes 19 drug‑related killings in Bouches‑du‑Rhône in 2025, most in Marseille.