Marseille Crime Figure 'Gros Dédé' Fatally Shot in Broad Daylight

André Cermolacce, a 70-year-old iconic figure of Marseille's underworld, was killed by three gunshots to the head, with the assailant fleeing on an electric scooter.

André Cermolacce, widely known as 'Gros Dédé,' was a prominent figure in Marseille's grand banditisme, involved in organized crime for decades.
He was fatally shot by an unidentified attacker using a pistol in the 14th arrondissement of Marseille, near his business premises.
The suspect, described as masked and escaping on an electric scooter, remains at large as the investigation is led by the Division of Organized Crime and Specialized Criminality (DCOS).
Cermolacce had a long criminal history, including convictions for corruption, illegal arms possession, and running a clandestine slot machine network.
His murder is seen as a potential marker of shifting dynamics in Marseille's criminal underworld, with speculation about motives ranging from old vendettas to conflicts with newer criminal factions.