At least three people died and another eight were injured after a flare up in gang violence in the French port of Marseille on Sunday night, police said.
Three separate shooting incidents have increased fears that tit-for-tat violence between rival drugs gangs is spiralling higher after a spate of fatal shootings over the last month.
All three deaths in the night of Sunday to Monday were young men – the youngest just 16. They all suffered gunshot wounds, two of them in the high-rise housing area known as Le Castellas in the working-class northern suburbs.
A third man died just north of the historic centre of the city in the La Joliette district, while two others with him are fighting for their lives in intensive care, local police and the fire brigade said.
Last year, 32 people were shot dead in gang violence in France's second-biggest city, a record high, according to the Marseille prosecutor's office.
So far this year 13 have died, including the latest victims, according to a toll from France's AFP news agency.
While Marseille is renowned for its spectacular Mediterranean setting, its densely populated northern districts are some of the most deprived urban areas in France and serve as the hub for the narcotics trade.
French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a 1.5-billion-euro plan to help Marseille tackle crime and deprivation in September 2021, calling such efforts a "duty of the nation".
During a three-day visit to the city, Macron called drug networks "parasites" and promised that traffickers would now be "harassed" by the authorities.
Manuel Bompard, an MP with the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, announced a rally in Marseille on Monday afternoon in support of the victims' families. Both LFI and the far-right RN party have denounced the government's failure to tackle drug-related crime in the city.
Aujourd’hui à 14h, rassemblement citoyen à l’appel du collectif des familles de victimes après cette nouvelle nuit ensanglantée à #Marseille. pic.twitter.com/d7LF31LGEx
— Manuel Bompard (@mbompard) April 3, 2023
(-with AFP)
