The killing of Mehdi Kessaci, the younger brother of anti-narcotics activist Amine Kessaci, has shaken Marseille and reignited debates about the city’s violent drug trade. The 20-year-old, who dreamed of becoming a police officer and had no connection to organized crime, was shot dead in broad daylight on November 13, 2025. For many, the attack seemed less like random violence and more like an attempt to silence a powerful voice speaking out against the “narcocracy” devouring France’s second-largest city.
It was around 2:30 p.m. when a motorcycle approached Mehdi’s car near Le Dôme, a well-known concert hall in Marseille’s 4th arrondissement. According to police reports, the passenger opened fire multiple times at close range, killing Mehdi instantly before the assailants sped away. Prosecutor Nicolas Bessone announced that an investigation for “organized assassination” had been opened, adding that the hypothesis of a “warning killing” had not been ruled out.
To many observers, the murder bore the hallmarks of professional drug traffickers – a chilling act meant to intimidate Amine Kessaci, one of Marseille’s most outspoken anti-narco activists. The city’s left-leaning mayor, Benoît Payan, described the incident as potentially “a terrifying escalation” if confirmed to have been meant as a warning. “We would be facing a dimension where human life is despised for money, threats, and power,” he said.
For Amine Kessaci, 22, this tragedy echoes a devastating pattern. In 2020, his older brother Brahim was murdered during a gang-related shooting. That earlier loss became the catalyst for Amine’s activism. Then a law student, he had already been passionate about civic engagement and politics. Out of grief, he founded the association Conscience, an organization dedicated to helping victims’ families – both legally and psychologically – while raising public awareness about how narcotrafficking destroys entire communities.
Conscience began by organizing food drives, community cleanups, and workshops in the working-class northern districts of Marseille. Over time, it grew into a national movement with around twenty branches across France. The group also mobilizes residents to vote, providing transportation and information to encourage political participation in areas where turnout is notoriously low. Amine’s efforts were soon noticed far beyond Marseille. During President Emmanuel Macron’s 2021 visit to the city, the teenage activist confronted him, insisting that solutions to the city’s social crises must come from local collaboration, not top-down Parisian planning. Macron, reportedly impressed by Amine’s composure and determination, recognized him as part of a new generation of civic leaders determined to reclaim their neighborhoods from crime and corruption.
By the time he turned twenty, Amine Kessaci had become one of France’s most visible young activists. In 2023, he topped the “Positive Planet” list of young positive leaders, an international recognition for social entrepreneurship initiated by economist Jacques Attali. His growing profile earned him media attention both domestically and abroad, culminating in a 2024 profile by The New York Times, which highlighted his intelligence, emotional maturity, and fearlessness.
That same year, he entered the political arena, running in both the European and legislative elections. Representing first the Green Party (Europe Écologie–Les Verts), then the left-wing New Popular Front, Kessaci narrowly lost to the incumbent from the far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally). Yet his campaign had already positioned him as a leading voice in the struggle for social justice and environmental renewal in Marseille’s marginalized suburbs.
Activism in Marseille carries heavy risks. Since August, Amine had been living under police protection after receiving multiple death threats. According to AFP, he had avoided appearing in public around Marseille for weeks, fearing an attack. Still, he continued to denounce the rise of what he called a “narcocracy,” a system in which traffickers replace official institutions, offering jobs, housing, or protection in return for allegiance. In his 2025 book Marseille, essuie tes larmes (“Marseille, Wipe Your Tears”), Kessaci directly addressed the moral collapse caused by drug money. The book serves both as a tribute to his late brother Brahim and a political manifesto. He wrote of his mission to “bring down those who order the killings – those who pay from Dubai or elsewhere to have people executed.” Now, with his second brother’s assassination, the dangers of his crusade have brutally become personal again.
Marseille is no stranger to bloodshed. Once known primarily for its cosmopolitan vibrancy and Mediterranean charm, the city has increasingly become a battlefield for rival drug gangs. The figures are grim: according to AFP, fourteen people have been killed in “narchomicides” in the Bouches-du-Rhône department since the beginning of 2025. The victims, once mainly associated with the trafficking world, now include innocent bystanders – teenagers, delivery drivers, and relatives of activists – caught in the crossfire. Police officers and crime experts speak of a steady escalation. “Every six months, they raise the bar in terms of horror,” lamented a senior Marseille investigator quoted by Le Monde. Even the perpetrators are getting younger. Last year, a 14-year-old hitman, reportedly paid €50,000, killed a ride-share driver while missing his intended target. In this climate, Amine’s campaign for social reinvestment and legalization of cannabis – part of his attempt to weaken the drug cartels’ economic foundation – has drawn both support and hostility.
Despite the danger, Amine Kessaci’s vision remains unchanged: to rebuild trust, restore dignity, and offer genuine alternatives to young people who see drug trafficking as their only option. His father, an undocumented Algerian mechanic, introduced him early to political protest, bringing him to demonstrations as a child. Amine’s creed – diversity, solidarity, and justice – has only hardened in the face of violence.
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