The new murder is a link in a "long escalation chain."
Recently, 20-year-old Medi Kessassi was killed in Marseille — the younger brother of local politician Amin Kessassi, who is involved in the fight against drug trafficking. Authorities believe this was an act of intimidation against the politician and refer to this crime as a "turning point." The murder of the 20-year-old has shocked Marseille and all of France.
20-year-old Medi Kessassi was not involved in drug trafficking. He planned to become a police officer. On November 13, he was shot in broad daylight by two individuals who stopped near his car on a scooter outside a concert hall in Marseille.
The criminals are still actively being sought. The investigation has been escalated to the national level.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez emphasized that the murder of Medi Kessassi was not a "classic settling of scores" among drug dealers, but a crime aimed at intimidating and silencing his brother — politician and anti-drug trafficking advocate Amin Kessassi. Amin Kessassi has been under constant police protection since August 2025, but this did not extend to his family.
According to Nuñez, this type of crime is a "turning point."
Drug-related murders often make headlines in local newspapers. Reports of settling scores among drug dealers are often perceived as routine. However, the murder of Medi Kessassi has been a shock for Marseille. It indicates that violence from drug gangs has reached a new level.
This murder is a link in a "long escalation chain," notes criminologist Jean-Baptiste Perrier in a comment to AFP: "In this case, the person being intimidated is not involved in drug trafficking." On the contrary, the politician "has made the fight against drug trafficking his central theme, so this is indeed something new," says Perrier.
Following this murder, several Marseille journalists covering drug trafficking issues have stopped signing their notes with their real names. Judges, police officers, and politicians also fear becoming new targets for drug groups.
"I will not be silenced"
Five years ago, Amin Kessassi already lost his older brother Brahim. Brahim was killed in 2020 during a settling of scores among drug gangs. Brahim Kessassi's body was found burned in a car.
This tragedy prompted Amin, who is now only 22 years old, to become a public advocate against drug trafficking. He founded the Conscience association to help families of victims of drug-related crime. In 2024, he ran for the National Assembly from the left-wing bloc "New Popular Front" (NFP).
"No, I will not be silenced," said the Marseille politician, who has already buried his second brother.
"I will repeat that my brother Medi died for nothing. I will speak about the brutality of drug trafficking. About the cowardice of those who order these crimes. I will talk about the shortcomings of the state, the failures of the republic, the neglected territories," he wrote for the newspaper Le Monde.
"I am told that this was a warning crime. But a crime is never a warning. Blood spilled is spilled forever. (...) Drug traffickers try to suppress any resistance, break any will, crush any rebellion in its infancy, to expand their power over our lives," Amin Kessassi continued.
The 22-year-old activist specifically noted that the police protection provided to him did not extend to his relatives: "But who didn’t know that my family has already paid in blood? How could anyone not know that my family could be harmed?"
He urged authorities to "assess the scale of what is happening" and "understand that this is a fight to the death."
The same approach as in the fight against terrorism
Ministers of the Interior and Justice have arrived in Marseille. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, after meeting with investigators and judges, stated that the threat from drug trafficking is "at least equivalent to the threat of terrorism."
This echoes recent statements by President Emmanuel Macron, who called for using the same approach in the fight against drug trafficking as in the fight against terrorism.
Darmanin announced in an interview with the newspaper La Provence the strengthening of the Marseille judiciary in the fight against drug trafficking. The ministers reminded of a new law against drug trafficking passed in June. It provides for the creation of a specialized prosecutor's office (PNACO) modeled after the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, in turn, called the fight against drug trafficking a "war" in which the state "is winning and will continue to win." He referred to a decrease in drug-related murders in the Bouches-du-Rhône department. In 2023, 50 such crimes were recorded, and in 2024 — 24. According to AFP's calculations, there have been 14 so far this year.
"We also need to understand how to combat corruption that affects investigative bodies and possibly the courts," warned Darmanin, mentioning "about ten investigations launched against officials allegedly involved in corruption and passing information to criminal organizations."
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