Amid rising concerns over escalating drug-related violence, French President Emmanuel Macron convened a high-level security meeting Tuesday at the Élysée Palace. The session, including key ministers and law enforcement officials, focused on implementing France’s new anti-drug trafficking law as recent events – including the shooting death of a brother of local activist Amine Kessaci – have underscored the growing challenges facing French cities, especially Marseille. The government is preparing to launch a new national prosecutorial office dedicated to organized crime in January 2026 as part of the effort.
French President Emmanuel Macron convened a meeting Tuesday, November 18, at the Élysée Palace to discuss the implementation of the country’s anti-drug trafficking law. The meeting, attended by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and several ministers, comes amid growing concerns about organized crime and violence in French cities.
Ministers including Gérald Darmanin (justice), Laurent Nuñez (interior), Jean-Noël Barrot (foreign affairs), and Amélie de Montchalin (public accounts) participated, as did Nicolas Bessone, the public prosecutor for Marseille. The Director-General of the National and Judicial Police also attended, according to the Élysée Palace.
The situation in Marseille was a specific focus of the discussion, officials said. This comes after the shooting death of Mehdi Kessaci, the brother of environmental activist Amine Kessaci, on November 13. Prosecutor Bessone has not ruled out the possibility that the killing was a warning.
The president reportedly called Amine Kessaci following the death of his brother, after another brother, Brahim, was killed in 2020. The case underscores the dangers faced by those working to combat drug trafficking in the region.
Creation of the National Organized Crime Prosecution Office
The prefect of police for the Bouches-du-Rhône department, Corinne Simon, will participate in the meeting organized by the Élysée Palace on Tuesday, but remotely from Marseille, as she will be overseeing the major security deployment planned for the funeral, according to the police prefecture.
In Grenoble, a 12-year-old boy was seriously injured by gunfire near a drug dealing location on the night of Saturday, November 16, and remained in a coma as of Monday. The attackers are still at large. The minor was known to police under “various identities” for drug trafficking, according to the Grenoble prosecutor’s office.
The meeting will focus on the “implementation” and “rollout” of the anti-drug trafficking law, which was enacted in June. The law includes the creation of the National Organized Crime Prosecution Office (Pnaco), scheduled to be officially established on January 1, 2026. This new office will have jurisdiction over the most serious and complex cases of organized crime, modeled after the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office and the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office.
Vanessa Perrée, nominated to lead the future Pnaco, will also be present at Tuesday’s meeting. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin defended the anti-drug trafficking law in parliament, which also included repressive measures, tools for investigators, and the creation of high-security wings in prisons to isolate the most dangerous drug traffickers.
Gérald Darmanin said Friday, November 14, that the tragedy in Marseille represented “a frightening turning point” that “should make the entire French society aware of the danger of this mafia of drug trafficking.”
The president has been closely following the issue of combating drug trafficking, and “visited the headquarters of the fight against organized crime in Nanterre in May,” according to the Élysée Palace.
