Drug trafficking in France: trials, record seizures and deadly violence in 2025
The fight against drug trafficking has emerged as a national priority following a series of murders and record seizures. BFM TV provides an overview of significant cases.
Drug trafficking in France: a criminal threat that is intensifying
According to BFM TV, the fight against drug trafficking has become one of the major priorities of the French government, driven by a law promulgated in June 2025 and a succession of violent cases that marked the year.
The assassination of Mehdi Kessaci, a turning point
In November 2025, Mehdi Kessaci was murdered in Marseille. His brother Amine Kessaci is a recognised figure in the fight against drug trafficking. Investigators considered the lead of a "mistaken target" in the context of a contract valued at "several tens of thousands of euros", with Amine Kessaci being presented as the main target. Six people were placed under investigation and remanded in custody, suspected of being involved in this murder, according to a statement from the National Organised Crime Prosecution Office. On 28 March, Amine Kessaci took up his position as deputy mayor of Marseille, under close police protection, stating that he wanted to "fight to the end" against organised crime.
Nantes: three deaths in less than a week
On 14 May, a 15-year-old boy, Elidjah, was killed and two other minors wounded in a shooting in the Port-Boyer housing estate in Nantes, against a backdrop of drug trafficking. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez visited the scene the following day, stating that this event strengthened "his determination in the fight against drug trafficking". On 28 May, a man was killed and another hospitalised following gunfire in the same city. In late April, a first victim had already been recorded. In total, six people died in less than a week in cases linked to drug trafficking, leading National Rally deputy Jean-Philippe Tanguy to estimate that the government was "overwhelmed" by the rise in violence.
On 3 June, a suspect was arrested in Nantes, suspected of being linked to this series of shootings and murders. A submachine gun was seized during his arrest. Several hundred people had, on the Saturday preceding the arrest, paid tribute to Elidjah during a white march, wearing a t-shirt bearing the photograph of the teenager.
Record seizures and institutional response
The Minister of Government Action and Public Accounts David Amiel announced a record seizure of 13 tonnes of cocaine in Dunkerque, within the space of about ten days, valued at an estimated 865 million euros. Furthermore, French authorities seized 3,366 kg of cocaine aboard a vessel sailing without a flag in the Atlantic. Seven traffickers were arrested and taken into custody in Fort-de-France.
On 29 May, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened an inter-ministerial committee to fight organised crime, in the presence of Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, Education Minister Édouard Geffray and Keeper of the Seals Gérald Darmanin. On 5 June, the Prime Minister visited the high-security prison at Vendin-le-Vieil to present a "plan" marking a "new phase" and a "change of scale" in the State's action against organised crime.
Trials and convictions
The appeal trial of Christopher Aouni, a figure in Marseille's narco-banditry, opened on Tuesday 1 September before the Bouches-du-Rhône Court of Assise.
Hacène Larbi, suspected of having commissioned several murders from his prison cell, was tried before the Paris Correctional Court for criminal association with a view to preparing a crime. He is accused of sending a 17-year-old minor to Marseille in June 2023 to execute a target in the context of drug trafficking — an operation that had failed.
Walid Bara was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment by the Aix-en-Provence Court of Assise for a double murder. He was at large during the trial.
On 8 July 2025, a woman was killed by a bullet fired through the door of her flat in Marseille. On 8 June, the prosecution announced that four men were placed under investigation in this case.
A threat in constant expansion
According to data from the Interior Ministry, the number of people suspected of drug trafficking in France "increases by approximately 7 per cent" each year since 2017. A 2026 report by Sirasco, the criminal intelligence service of the judicial police, warns of the growing power of French criminal organisations, citing deadly violence, corruption and the use of artificial intelligence as markers of their modernisation.
The public prosecutor of Nice, Damien Martinelli, called for action "against drug dealing points and against narco-delivery at the same time", denouncing a "totally unchecked violence" associated with the functioning of drug trafficking.
For his first campaign trip as a candidate for the 2027 presidential election, Bruno Retailleau visited the Pablo Picasso neighbourhood in Nanterre to present his "emergency anti-trafficking plan", a plan which would require, according to him, a constitutional reform to be applicable.
Furthermore, a circular prioritising minors as victims was not applied in the processing of complaints against the suspect in the investigation into the disappearance of Lyhanna. The Justice Minister denounced "damning dysfunctions".
Source: BFM TV