Organized Crime in France
Key Insights:
Organized crime in France presents an increasing security challenge. Marseille is the focal point of concern due to high profile drug-driven violence, firearms proliferation, and significant youth recruitment. Record levels of cocaine seizures indicate sustained supply and high purity drugs signal increased competition among organized criminal groups, likely leading to increased violence over supply and territory. The persistent drug demand, access to illegal firearms, and the increasing number of minors involved in criminal groups raises concerns around the entrenchment of violent criminal activity.
Key Events:
November 22, 2025: Approximately 6,000 people marched in Marseille against drug-related violence, following the alleged ordered murder of an activist's brother. According to open source reporting, the brother was likely murdered to intimidate the activist.
April 15, 2025: Criminal gunmen targeted multiple prisons and prison-linked sites, with arson and automatic gunfire, during heightened counter-narcotics operations.
April 11, 2025: Europol executed arrests in France, Bosnia, and Spain, dismantling a firearms trafficking operation. The police seized 25 AK-pattern rifles, 126 hand grenades, 2 kg of 7.62x39mm ammunition, 1 machine gun, and a pistol. The weapons and ammunition were reportedly bound for France.
February 6, 2025: France’s Interior Minister warned of a “Tsunami of cocaine,” amid multiple large seizures.
December 2024: In 2024, authorities recorded 367 cases of murder or attempted murder, with 341 people injured and 110 deaths linked to drug trafficking.
December 2024: In 2024, police seized 47 tonnes of cocaine, twice the amount seized in 2023.
Analysis
Organized crime is increasingly becoming a threat in France. Targeted shootings, youth recruitment, and intimidation of state institutions are visible impacts of drug-driven organized crime growing in France. Increasing large narcotics seizures, and increasing purity signals abundant supply and intensified competition among networks. Greater competition between organized crime groups can often preclude increased levels of violence as groups fight over territory and control of the drug trade.
July 15, 2025: Police seized 5 tons of cocaine bound for France, off Martinique.
Marseille is the epicenter for visible organized crime in France, with an estimated 20,000 people involved in the drug trade in the city. Marseille has been utilized by gangs as a trafficking hub and due to high profile violence is viewed as the centre of “narcobanditry.” We assess the growing involvement of children in gang violence also raises concerns of the long-term entrenchment of criminal structures within French society.
Drug-related murders in Marseille fell in 2024 compared with 2023, but the city remained the epicenter of criminal related violence.
A continued shift toward younger perpetrators, including minors recruited as traffickers and contract shooters raises further concerns. In October 2024, a 14 year old boy murdered a taxi driver in Marseille, after being contracted to conduct a revenge murder for €50,000.
A key driver of violence in French organized crime has been the proliferation of firearms. In 2025, Europol announced the dismantling of a major firearms trafficking route supplying France, with authorities seizing AK-pattern assault rifles, grenades, and large quantities of ammunition. Europol reported the smuggling routes originated from the Western Balkans and other legacy conflict zones, with firearms then distributed to western European gangs for enforcement, intimidation, and protection.
Firearms proliferation combined with youth recruitment increased volatility at the street level, as senior criminal figures utilized minors to deploy violence.
In April 2025, criminals conducted 15 coordinated assaults on prisons as French police increased anti-narcotic operations. Over five nights, criminals fired automatic weapons at multiple prisons and vehicles were torched. Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin stated these actions were “attempts …to intimidate staff in several prisons.” These coordinated actions highlight the willingness of criminal actors to employ violence against state institutions.
April 28, 2025: Police arrested 25 people in relation to the prison attacks in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux. The number of suspects involved and the geographic spread of the arrests emphasize the scale of the criminal network operating in France.
Outlook
We assess organized crime will continue to pose an acute, localized threat in France through 2026. Persistent drug consumption and sustained access to illicit firearms will drive this risk. Authorities will likely continue efforts to dismantle trafficking routes and seize weapons, which may disrupt individual supply chains but will not reduce market demand or significantly degrade organized criminal activity. The demand for drugs and continued firearm availability increases the likelihood of retaliatory violence, highlighted by the coordinated prison attacks in 2025.
The increasing recruitment of minors into organized crime will likely entrench rivalries and drive cycles of violence. This trend will remain most visible in Marseille, although other major urban centers almost certainly will experience levels of drug-related violence. Authorities will also persist with counter-narcotics operations, and large-scale drug seizures.
Widespread access to firearms raises the risk of organized crime groups expanding into additional violent criminal activity, including extortion, armed robbery, and kidnapping. As competition within the drug trade intensifies, criminal groups are pushed to diversify revenue streams toward activities made more accessible by firearm availability.
The risk of collateral damage during high profile shooting incidents will remain persistent in high crime areas.
We recommend organizations and individuals with interests or operations in France consider the following options, which Concentric can assist with:
Prior to travel, conducting comprehensive risk assessments, securing reliable intelligence on political, criminal, and infrastructure-related risks.
Ensuring appropriate insurances are in place prior to any travel, which should include adequate kidnap ransom extortion coverage.
Employing travel tracking tools and secure communication channels to monitor movements in real time.
Avoiding displays of wealth and minimizing solo movements, particularly in high crime areas. If confronted with a robbery or threat, disengaging and moving to safety should take precedence over resistance.
Authored by: Alexander Edwards - If you would like to collaborate or discuss this article you can reach out to aedwards@concentric.io
