Mehdi Kessaci, 20, brother of ecologist activist Amine Kessaci, was shot dead on Thursday, November 13, in Marseille's 4th arrondissement by gunmen on a motorcycle. This killing, potentially linked to narcotrafficking, is described as an 'alarming tipping point' by Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin. An investigation into organized gang assassination has been launched.
The assassination of Mehdi Kessaci occurred around 14:30 on Thursday, November 13, 2025, near Marseille's largest concert hall and opposite the Bouches-du-Rhône departmental council headquarters. According to prosecutor Nicolas Bessone, a motorcycle pulled up to the victim's vehicle as he parked, and the passenger fired multiple shots, including six bullets, while Mehdi was still inside. Several 9 mm casings were found at the scene. Mehdi Kessaci, unknown to police and justice services, may have been a substitute target to send a message to his brother Amine, an anti-narcotrafficking activist.
The Marseille prosecutor's office opened an investigation for organized gang assassination and criminal association aimed at committing a crime. Questioned on France Inter, the prosecutor stated that the hypothesis of a warning to Amine Kessaci 'is absolutely not excluded at this stage.' 'If that were the case, we would have crossed an additional step. It reminds us of certain terrible periods known in our country, where you assassinate people simply because they are members of a family with which you have problems,' he said.
On Friday, November 14, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin reacted on X: 'The assassination [...] is undoubtedly an alarming tipping point that must make the entire French society aware of the danger of this narcobandit mafia.' He called for greater firmness: 'In the face of this terror, we must all go further in firmness and the means implemented [...] in this war that requires constant mobilization.' Darmanin listed recent measures, such as the narcotraffic law, high-security prisons, and a national anti-organized crime prosecutor's office.
Amine Kessaci has been under judicial protection since publishing his book Marseille, essuie tes larmes, a letter to his older brother Brahim, killed in a narcomicide. According to a source close to the investigation, this book may be linked to the attack. Since the start of 2025, 14 people have been killed in narcomicides in Bouches-du-Rhône, per AFP. The event has stirred strong emotion in Marseille, seen as a 'challenge to the rule of law'.