Drugs

A simple Google search of 'Marseille and drugs' returns over 3 million results in about .3 seconds. This is indicative of the immense problem Marseille faces with drugs and drug related violence. Marseille has long held the reputation of a a gritty, crime-ridden and violent Mediterranean port city. I think that this reputation and construction of Marseille as dangerous may come from the native French people's dislike of immigrants, especially North Africans. The North Africans do tend to dominate the drug trade in Marseille and certain neighborhoods are completely under gang control and have an extensive network of dealers, watchmen and women who guard money and drug stores inside houses. Unfortunately, drug dealing leads to violence and many young men are getting gunned down, especially if they try to leave a gang. Drug trafficking also leads to turf disputes between dealers which result in death, because AK-47s and other weapons are often smuggled from North Africa along with the cannabis and cocaine. Most of these drugs are sold by impoverished men in the Northern Quarters to more wealthy people from other neighborhoods and sections in Marseille.

Police are finding it very hard to attack and catch these smaller drug networks because leadership and membership is constantly changing, which is different than more traditional organized crime. Especially since many of the municipal policemen in Marseille are unarmed, politicians were calling for national police forces and the army to interfere. This call for help was especially needed in September 2012 when there had been 20 drug related deaths in 9 months. Interestingly, with the Capital of Culture coming to Marseille in 2013, little media attention was given to drugs and violence until March when killings spiked again. The Marseille government is making attempts to curb violence and drug trafficking but they are not attacking the root of the problem which is high unemployment, poverty, poor education systems and extremely poor living conditions among immigrant communities in the Northern Quarters.

Having heard so much about the dangers of the Northern Quarters and the rampant drug trade, I was a little hesitant to visit this part of the city. Using public transportation to reach our destination to speak with social workers was interesting because the demograpic of people on board slowly shifted. This will be explored more in depth in the next section about transportation. As a group of mostly white, American women we definitely received curious looks and some cat calls, but nothing too serious. I am sure the dynamic of the Northern Quarters housing projects change drastically at night, which is when the bulk of drug deals occur.