During a visit to Marseille, President Emmanuel Macron announced an increase in the fine for drug use to 500 euros, up from 200 euros. He also visited the grave of Mehdi Kessaci, murdered in November, and called for international cooperation against drug traffickers.
Emmanuel Macron visited Marseille on Tuesday, December 16, to address the fight against drug trafficking. In a meeting with readers of the newspaper La Provence, he stated that the fixed fine for drug use would rise to 500 euros. '500 euros, because it has to hit the wallet, because getting high isn't festive,' he justified.
The president expressed frustration with drug consumption, stating: 'I'm fed up with mourning young people and (...) with others who think buying drugs is festive.' To improve fine collection rates, which he deemed unsatisfactory, he announced the creation of 'republican commissioners' to assist public finances and justice.
Currently, this fine is set at 200 euros, reducible to 150 euros if paid within 15 days, and increasable to 450 euros after 45 days. Macron also discussed pursuing network leaders abroad, planning visits to relevant countries for cooperation, asset seizures, and extraditions.
Before these discussions, the head of state paid respects at Saint-Henri cemetery in the northern districts, at the grave of 20-year-old Mehdi Kessaci, shot six times on November 13 by fleeing motorcyclists. The investigation favors an intimidation crime targeting his brother Amine, an anti-drug trafficking activist. At the opening of a police station in the area, with Amine and their mother present, Macron said: 'Mehdi Kessaci was attacked because we were attacking the traffickers.' He praised the family as 'courageous' and urged: 'We must not give up, because what the traffickers seek is to intimidate.'
Macron also met the mother of Socayna, a student killed by a stray bullet in 2023 while studying at home, an incident that shocked the city.
