The assassination of Mehdi Kessaci, brother of an anti-narcotraffic activist, has sparked growing feelings of impotence and danger in Marseille. Residents, social actors, magistrates, and police describe an alarming shift in networks toward extortion. A white march gathered over 6,200 people to denounce these violences.
On November 13, Mehdi Kessaci, 20 years old, was shot in the early afternoon in Marseille's 4th arrondissement, in front of a pharmacy, by two men on a motorcycle. According to the Marseille prosecutor's office, the young man had no connection to drug trafficking. He was the younger brother of Amine Kessaci, 22, founder of the Conscience association supporting families victimized by networks, who entered politics in 2024 alongside ecologists, running for European and legislative elections.
Fadella Ouidef, a mother of four and resident of the Busserine neighborhood for nineteen years, reacted with deep emotion to the news. As a parents' delegate and member of local associations like Art qu'en ciel and L'Agora, she locked herself away to cry. "Something new, subdued, insidious," she says. "Now we know no one is safe. It won't stop me from speaking, but something gnaws at me. I watch what I say."
On November 22, a white march brought together over 6,200 people at the crime scene to protest narcotraffic. Yet few residents from popular neighborhoods joined, with associations fearing for their safety. Interviews by Le Monde with cité residents, social actors, magistrates, and police highlight a shared sense of helplessness against the proliferation of traffickers, backed by vast financial resources, and a shift toward extorting personalities and businesses.