Rival Drug Gang Violence Spikes in France with Double Murder in Sevran and Beaudottes

In Sevran, on the outskirts of Paris, two men were shot to death in what appears to be a settling of accounts between rival drug trafficking gangs. The victims were aged 33 and 34 and were found dead around 6:15 p.m. local time (4:15 p.m. GMT) on the street of Snowdrop in the neighborhood Basse. According to Actu 17, the murderer used a pistol and fled the scene, leaving around twenty bullet casings behind.

French law enforcement officials are investigating this double murder as being related to drug trafficking since the victims had a history of drug trafficking and violence. This latest incident occurred less than 48 hours after another action that is being investigated as a settling of accounts between rival gangs in the drug trade in Beaudottes, a neighborhood known for its conflictivity. In that case, a 28-year-old man died and four others were injured by kalasnikov shots from an individual who was reportedly the co-pilot of a car that broke into the vicinity of the parking lot of the Micro Folie cultural center.

The mayor of Sevran, Stéphane Blanchet, stated after that first action that “such an incredible outbreak of violence does not occur by chance” but those responsible are “trafficking, dirty drug money”. The settling of accounts between groups of criminals has grown in France over recent years with French law enforcement officials recording 85 deaths last year – 20% more than in 2022 – with many occurring in Marseilles where some neighborhoods are considered gangrenous due to drug trafficking.

French law enforcement forces have carried out large-scale anti-drug operations throughout various black spots across France and dismantled several well-known trading places including one in Rougemont within Sevran’s neighborhood