A young French campaigner, who set up an association to help victims of drugs violence and took their cause to President Emmanuel Macron, has lost a second brother to suspected criminal gangs in Marseille.
Amine Kessaci's 20-year-old brother Mehdi was parking his car in the centre of the city when a motorcycle drew up and the pillion passenger opened fire with a 9mm pistol.
Their elder brother, Brahim, was murdered in 2020, with his charred body found in a burned-out car, a common method in gang killings known locally as a barbecue.
Marseille is renowned for its worsening drugs wars, with rival gangs from high-immigration neighbourhoods battling over turf.
While Amine's murdered elder brother had ties to drug gangs, investigators say that Mehdi, who aspired to become a policeman, was not involved.
Marseille chief prosecutor Nicolas Bessone stated that the murder could have been a warning aimed at Amine, stating, That hypothesis is absolutely not being ruled out. This raises concerns about the resurgence of vendettas in the city.
Amine, now 22 and living under police protection, established the association Conscience after his elder brother's death, aiming to help young people escape gangs. He has previously run for the Green Party and authored a book detailing his experiences, emphasizing the dire situation in Marseille.
This year alone, there have been 14 drug-related murders, highlighting the ongoing violence and its impact on families in the city.
