ON a chilly night in February, a teenager lies in a pool of blood after being beaten to death by 30 thugs in a high-rise ghetto.
The "score settling" lynching was the start of a blood-soaked turf war still raging through the southern French city of Marseille - just a short car ride away from millionaires' playgrounds like Saint-Tropez and Cannes.
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France's second biggest city, Marseille, has been plagued with drug-related crime 12
Deadly gangs have taken over tower blocks in the northern districts of the city Credit: AFP
Fuelled by an intense rivalry between two notorious gangs, DZ Mafia and Yoda, vulnerable teenager footsoldiers - dubbed 'Kleenex killers' due to their 'disposability' - have turned parts of the picturesque city into a warzone.
Local cops have counted 68 shootings since the start of the year, 30 of which were fatal. Just this month, there were six deaths in six days.
As the frightening figures threaten to tip last year's death toll already, residents in the impacted areas are fearing for their lives, with Marseille state prosecutor Dominique Laurens admitting: "It's a bloodbath."
Most of the violence has taken place in the northern districts as drug peddlers exert control of "lucrative" locations.
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Brutal murders and yobs brandishing Kalashnikovs are reportedly commonplace in the tower blocks of Arrondissement 13, 14 and 15.
French criminologist Michel Gandilhon, an expert in national and international drug trafficking, told The Sun an explosion in cocaine trafficking is driving a wave of drug-related crimes across Europe.
He said: "In terms of the level of violence and the intensity of criminal activity, Marseille is probably one of the worst affected cities in Europe."
At the end of 2022, the Ministry of the Interior counted about 127 local drug dealing spots, particularly in the northern districts.
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Emmanuel Macron's government claimed the supply was being moved by Franco-North African networks specialising in cannabis resin from Morocco.
However, Michel believes the market has shifted to cocaine - igniting a war of greed and power.
He explains: "Over the last ten years, we have seen a steady rise in homicides linked to drug trafficking in Marseille.
"This year is shaping up to be exceptional, with almost 40 people already dead and around a hundred injured.
"You have to go back to the mid-1980s, when the old criminal
underworld was battling it out to succeed crime boss Ga？tan Zampa, to find such a high level of settling of scores."
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Hooded yobs patrol the streets for their gangland bosses Credit: AFP 12
Marseille has already seen 30 fatal shootings in 2023 Credit: AFP 12
Matteo F, pictured, one of the many teens recruited by rival gangs DZ Mafia and Yoda 12
Specialist cops find a pouch of drugs after a raid in a northern Arrondissement Credit: AFP 12
The picturesque city has been ravaged by drug warlords Credit: AFP
Zampa was once dubbed the "Godfather of Marseille" who played a key role in the 'French Connection' before being killed in 1984.
His reign during the 1960s saw copious amounts of heroin trafficked from the seaside port to rest of the world and especially the US.
But now the northern districts, which suffer from desperate levels of poverty, are being preyed upon by new criminal networks.
Gang rivalry
Official figures show the demographics of the area consist of young male immigrants and high levels of unemployment.
Michel said: "The gangs target vulnerable neighbourhoods where the police are no longer present, except intermittently.
"Not just in Marseille, but in all the major French cities.
"Today, in certain areas, the State has lost its monopoly on legitimate violence."
According to Paris publication Le Monde, the DZ Mafia and Yoda clans have recently been fighting over an inner city housing estate called La Paternelle.
It has played host to territorial conflicts, which saw a 30-year-old man gunned down with a Kalashnikov rifle on August 15.
At the time, local police chief Frederique Camilleri said: "This is nothing less than a new round in the fight between Yoda and DZ Mafia."
Kids of 12 in murder squad
French authorities claimed the two gangs were responsible for more than 80 per cent of the total gang-related hits in Marseille this year.
Their networks have allegedly embroiled kids as young as 12, who play roles such as "choufs" - scouts to alert lieutenants when cops are on the beat.
In April, police arrested an 18-year-old man named Matteo F who had allegedly been hired to murder a gang's rivals.
The victims ranged in age from 15 to 20, with authorities estimating Matteo got about ￡170,000 for the hits, it was reported.
The surge in violence has prompted Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin to send in specialist "riot" forces to take control of France's second most populous city.
Axelle, 37, is a social worker and has lived and worked in the most notorious districts for more than a decade.
She told us: "Marseille has changed a lot in that time but I have never had any trouble.
"Our social issues come as a result of lack of police, community integration and a class-based society."
However, Axelle doesn't deny there has been an increase in incivility.
She said: "I'm not saying life is perfect - I'd be lying if I was.
"It is pretty simple, if you deal drugs, and do it in the wrong place - you will be killed.
"I am sure residents not in the drug game living in the impacted towers would be living in fear."
Aside from the spike in violence, Marseille remains a popular tourist hub - welcoming more than two million visitors a year.
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It was also notably named the European Capital of Culture in 2013.
But a decade on, the warring drug gangs that scar its streets are giving it an altogether deadlier reputation.
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A Marseillian is brisked by cops Credit: AFP 12
Young, vulnerable men are targeted by gangs Credit: AFP 12
The city recently witnessed riots amid the death of a teenager in Nanterre, sparking criticism over police treatment of people in low-income suburbs Credit: AFP 12
Emmanuel Macron's government has ordered specialist cops to the area Credit: AFP 12
Marseille is a melting pot of cultures and social classes Credit: Getty