{"id":15547,"date":"2019-05-29T15:01:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-29T13:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iconicriviera.com\/?p=15547"},"modified":"2026-09-06T11:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T09:30:14","slug":"%d0%bf%d1%80%d0%b5%d1%81%d1%82%d1%83%d0%bf%d0%bd%d0%be%d1%81%d1%82%d1%8c-%d0%b2-%d0%bc%d0%b0%d1%80%d1%81%d0%b5%d0%bb%d0%b5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iconicriviera.com\/ru\/crime-in-marseille\/","title":{"rendered":"\u041f\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0443\u043f\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u044c \u0432 \u041c\u0430\u0440\u0441\u0435\u043b\u0435"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Marseille is situated on the southern coast of France, 110 miles west of the famed and glittering Riviera. It is the oldest French city, dating back to 600BC, and is home to approximately 850,000 residents, the second largest city in France. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We recommend you don’t go near this dangerous and corrupted city.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It is a city of contrasts, with the richer, mostly white areas south of the city center and the poorer northern districts from the center of the city, where 40% of people live below the poverty line. Many call Marseille the poorest city in France. Those with money live in the suburbs, whilst the northern districts are cramped with high rise blocks (sometimes referred to as ghettos) mostly occupied by immigrants and disenfranchised youth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crime is rife in the city, with high murder rates and drug related crimes, and it’s only getting worse: Marseille is experiencing growing social problems. Areas in the northern districts have become \u2018no-go\u2019 areas for the police and the locals run their own road blocks to monitor who enters and dish out their own form of discipline and punishment. Gang warfare is the norm and the drug cartels operate with relative impunity and openly carry Kalashnikovs, which have become the weapon of choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Marseille is a large port city, this has meant that it has become a magnet for immigration. There is no way of knowing how many Arabs\/Muslims live in any individual city, because registration by religion or ethnic origin is forbidden by law, however the latest research in Marseille suggests that around one-third of \u2018Marseilles\u2019 are now Muslim. Back in 2006, it was reported that 70,000 city residents were considered to be of Maghrebian origin, mostly Algerian. The second largest group in Marseille in terms of single nationalities were from the Comoros, amounting to some 45,000 people. This has increased tremendously as migrants flee the troubles of their African and Middle Eastern countries. This group does not assimilate well with native Marseilles.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Crime rates are over 5 times higher than any other city in France.<\/span> The murder rate is especially high, as young men are routinely trapped and burned alive. This happens so often that it even has a name: it’s called a \u2018Marseille barbecue\u2019<\/a>, and it’s part of gang or drug-related crimes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muggings are violent and usually involve numerous people, who carry weapons. Approaching on scooters is a common tactic. As youth unemployment is reported to be as high as 40%, crimes of robbery and assault to obtain easily sold valuables are common. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As if all this wasn’t bad enough, Marseille also has a continuing war with the Corsican separatist group FLNC<\/a>, and they have carried out bomb attacks on many hotels in Marseille.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you must visit Marseille, use common sense and don\u2019t put yourself at risk by entering areas known for high crime rates (like the third arrondissement \u2013the poorest area in France\u2013 where over 50% live beneath the poverty line). Don’t travel alone at night. If you have an air of confidence about you and you look at home with your surroundings, you are less likely to be attacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out our expert tips about how to avoid crime on the French Riviera<\/a> and see our Marseille-specific tips below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind the Crime that Gave Marseille its Drug Trafficking Reputation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Marseille has a long history of criminal activity involving the mafia, but there is one crime in particular that gave this city its reputation as a drug-trafficking capital: the \u2018French Connection\u2019. It\u2019s an amazing story that begins with stolen Nazi money and ends with corruption in 1970\u2019s New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1930s, Corsican mafia leader Paul Carbone<\/a> realized that there was money to be made on the streets of America by selling heroin. He began transporting poppy seeds from Turkey to France \u2013 via Marseille \u2013 and then on towards Canada and, eventually, the US. This route (soon dubbed the ‘French Connection’<\/a>) used Marseille as a thoroughfare because it was one of the busiest ports in the Mediterranean, meaning shipments were more difficult to detect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A man called Auguste Ricord<\/a> worked with Carbone to finance the operation. It is believed that the money Ricord provided was obtained during his time with the French Gestapo, a branch of the Nazi party, in the years that made up World War II. US authorities were aware of the French Connection as early as 1937, having discovered a number of Marseille-based labs that were turning morphine paste into heroine. However, the CIA allegedly protected the Corsican gang<\/a> because of the help they provided in preventing French communists from taking control of Marseille\u2019s Old Port at the end of World War II. This turned out to be a big mistake for the Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French Connection gradually began to ship greater and greater quantities of drugs to America throughout the 1950\u2019s and \u201960s. It is estimated that, by 1960, as much as 5,000 pounds of heroin (2,300 kg) was coming onto American streets through the route every year. French authorities were allegedly reluctant to arrest one of the gang\u2019s major ringleaders as he had been a part of the French Resistance during World War II. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US government tried to get Turkey to reduce the amount of opium being exported, but eventually they knew they had to bring down the mob themselves. The US authorities (with help from international allies) clamped down on the trafficking activity and, throughout the early 1970\u2019s, seized boatloads of drugs and arrested hundreds of people. At the same time, many members of the mafia involved were killed due to in-fighting with other gangs. By the mid \u201970s, the French Connection was washed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French Connection brought a huge amount of drugs into the US \u2013 and many New York police officers used the scheme to get rich themselves. In fact, the NYPD involvement is still at the centre of one of history\u2019s most infamous, unsolved corruption scandals<\/a>: in 1962, a large shipment of drugs \u2013 containing over 400 pounds of heroin and cocaine said to be valued at $73 million \u2013 was seized from the French Connection gang. In 1972 it was discovered that the drugs, which were being kept in a New York City police vault, had been replaced with flour and cornstarch and, over the ten-year period, sold on the streets of America. Four New York City police officers were implicated, one of which was later killed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the French Connection mobsters \u2013 eventually sent down fora total of 455 years for his crimes \u2013 is currently languishing in an American jail; Anthony Casso is perhaps the only person in the world that will ever know who was really responsible for leaking the drugs onto the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French connection is the stuff of legends \u2013 and prime material Hollywood. In 1971, William Friedkin (who famously went on to direct ‘The Exorcist’) made a movie called ‘The French Connection’<\/a>, starring Gene Hackman. But the French were already using Marseille as a notorious backdrop long before this. Films like Jacques Deray\u2019s ‘<\/a>Borsalino’ (1970), starring two of France\u2019s most popular actors at the time, showed rival gangsters and warring mafia families. Locals in Marseille had known for a long time that the city was home to nefarious mafia behavior, but it was the Oscar-winning success of ‘The French Connection’ that really brought awareness to an international audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marseille\u2019s infamy continues to this day, with Netflix\u2019s grandiose Marseille series<\/a> and C\u00e9dric Jimenez\u2019s 2014 version of the drug bust starring Jean Dujardin, called ‘La French’<\/a>. It appears as if this is one aspect of Marseille\u2019s history that it will never shake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latest Updates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On March 19, 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron initiated a multi-week crackdown on drug trafficking in Marseille, a city that has been plagued by gang violence, resulting in dozens of deaths and making life unbearable for many residents. During his unexpected visit to the southern port city, which is set to host several events for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Macron announced that more than 80 individuals had already been apprehended in the initial raids. Over the next three weeks, approximately 900 police officers will be deployed weekly in Marseille and its surrounding areas. The President commenced his visit with a walkabout in the northern district of La Castellane <\/svg><\/a>, one of the worst-affected areas, assuring residents that the operation aims to “try to destroy the networks and the traffickers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joseph Downing<\/a> \u2013 a senior lecturer in politics and international relations, who grew up on a London council estate and lives in Marseille, where he has studied the relationship between the cit\u00e9s<\/em> and police \u2013 said it was impossible for Britons to grasp how awful the estates are. He says<\/a> that “in terms of the disrepair of the housing stock, the absence of the state \u2013 the absence of anybody \u2013 we can\u2019t comprehend it\u2019s possible. The police are even scared to go there. For us, this is unthinkable. These places are literally outside the state. If you call the police as a resident, they will not come.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent Updates \u2014 August 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marseille’s security picture has changed substantially since the “place nette XXL” operations of 2024:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The killing has fallen sharply.<\/strong> 2023 was the record year, with 49 “narchomicides” \u2014 a portmanteau of narcobanditisme<\/em> and homicide<\/em> coined for the city. That halved to 24 in 2024, and 2025 fell again: Marseille accounted for 55 of the PACA region’s 104 homicides in 2025, but its total declined \u2014 while the Alpes-Maritimes rose. Prosecutors attribute the fall partly to enforcement and partly to a shift in the balance of power between gangs, with the DZ Mafia having gained the upper hand over its rival, “Yoda”. [source]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other indicators are more mixed.<\/strong> From the Bouches-du-Rh\u00f4ne 2025 figures: general crime in Marseille’s central districts (Belsunce, Porte d’Aix, Noailles) fell 12.7% following the “JUMBO” operations and the reinforced summer 2025 security plan, with armed robberies in the central division down 47%. But offences against the person rose 3.9% across the department, driven by sexual violence (+8.2%) and violence against public officials (+10.5%). [source]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enforcement figures.<\/strong> 1,161 kg of cocaine was seized in 2025, up 254% on 2024. The number of dealing points in the department has halved in four years, from 222 to 114 \u2014 but trafficking is reorganising around home delivery. Criminal asset confiscations rose from around \u20ac6 million in 2024 to nearly \u20ac18 million in 2025, and the prefect stated in September 2025 that nine dealing points remained in Marseille’s inner city. The June 2025 “narcotrafic” law gives authorities new tools, including administrative closure of businesses linked to trafficking and exclusion orders barring suspected dealers from named areas. [source]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The turning point was not a raid.<\/strong> On 13 November 2025, Mehdi Kessaci, a 20-year-old with no criminal record, was murdered in broad daylight on a Marseille street. He was the brother of Amine Kessaci, a prominent anti-drug campaigner and author \u2014 a family connection the European Parliament, in a resolution adopted on 20 January 2026, identified as the motive. Eleven people have now been charged in the investigation. The case shifted the terms of the debate from street-level dealing to intimidation of civil society. Amine Kessaci has since become a deputy mayor of Marseille responsible for youth and citizenship, and continues campaigning despite ongoing threats against him. [source]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where the pressure is now.<\/strong> The DZ Mafia has moved beyond drug trafficking into intimidation and extortion of local public figures, and its reach now extends well past Marseille into medium-sized towns. The trend has drawn national attention, making narcotrafic a central theme of the March 2026 municipal elections. Beno\u00eet Payan was returned as mayor on March 22, 2026 with 54.34% in the second round. [source]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For visitors.<\/strong> The violence is territorial and targeted. It is concentrated in the northern housing estates \u2014 La Castellane <\/svg><\/a>, La Paternelle, the 13th, 14th and 15th arrondissements \u2014 not in the Vieux-Port, Le Panier, Notre-Dame de la Garde, the Corniche or the Calanques. What visitors actually encounter is pickpocketing and bag-snatching, concentrated around Gare Saint-Charles, the Canebi\u00e8re and Noailles. The central-district figures above suggest that specific problem has improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Local’s Perspective and Tips<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

“I’m an English guy who\u2019s been living in Marseille since July 2014 and am offering an update on the crime and safety situation from a local perspective. Myself and every<\/em> resident I speak with here has first hand experience of crime, with the most common being snatch thefts, pickpocket, theft from cars, theft of bicycles \/ motorbikes. I’ve had a bag snatched, I saw the thief take it and I chased him. This is the first time anything like this has happened to me, I\u2019m almost fifty years old and have lived in some dodgy areas of major UK cities with the worst that happened being a bike stolen from the entrance hall of some flats where I lived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certain parts of Marseille are a lot more dangerous than others. The forest of CCTV cameras recently installed may have made areas like the Vieux Port <\/svg><\/a> and Panier <\/svg><\/a> safer but based on my experiences and what I\u2019ve heard from long term residents, here are some points to bear in mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n