Three killed, eight injured, in drug-related violence in French port city of Marseille

At least three people have died and another eight were injured after a flare up in gang violence in the French port of Marseille on Sunday night,.

Accirding to police, the victims suffered gunshot wounds, two of them in the high rise housing area known as Le Castellas in the working-class northern suburbs.

A third man died just north of the historic centre of the city in the La Joliette district, while two others with him are fighting for their lives in intensive care, local police and the fire brigade said.

Last year, 32 people were shot dead in gang violence in France’s second-biggest city, a record high, according to the Marseille prosecutor’s office.

So far this year 13 have died, including the latest victims, according to a toll from France’s AFP news agency.

French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a 1.5-billion-euro plan to help Marseille tackle crime and deprivation in September 2021, calling such efforts a “duty of the nation”.

During a three-day visit to the city, Macron called drug networks “parasites” and promised that traffickers would now be “harassed” by the authorities.