Marseille gangs exploit vulnerable children in expanding drugs trade

Drug gangs in Marseille are recruiting vulnerable children with promises of paid work, then trapping them in drug dealing and subjecting them to violence and exploitation. Their growing reach, alongside a wider expansion of France’s drugs market, has made the city a focal point for concerns about minors being drawn into organised crime.

A court heard that two 15-year-olds were beaten and abused after gang members accused them of missing money; one was raped, and six men were later given lengthy sentences. The report describes DZ Mafia’s rise after a bloody turf war and its use of social media to promote itself and recruit hitmen. France’s anti-drug trafficking chief estimates smuggling generates €7bn a year, while the number of cocaine users is expected to rise from 600,000 in 2017 to two million; official figures say more than 10,000 children were involved in trafficking in 2025.