DZ Mafia murder trial set to begin near Marseille

At just 23 years old, Amine Kessachi is one of the most protected people in France. The deputy mayor of Marseille has become a symbol of the city's struggle with powerful cartels. This after his elder brother, who had been recruited by a drug gang, was shot and burned in a car in 2020. When you're 17 and you buried your big brother after he was found burned beyond recognition, and you've promised him you'll see this through, that you'll keep going and stay strong, Then seeing this process through to the end becomes incredibly important to you. Last year, at the height of Amin's campaign for Marseille's deputy mayor position, his rhetoric focused on how poor teens were easy prey for cartels. It was the kind of discourse which rubbed powerful gangs the wrong way. Another brother of his who had no connection to drugs and wanted to join the police force would wind up dead. I've written, challenged people to account for their actions, met with politicians, even put together a political program and stood for election myself. I think everyone knows what I'm calling for, what the people of Marseille and France are calling for. As the trial gets underway, Marseille's deputy mayor is hoping to expose the reality of the city's cartels, with miners often recruited from disadvantaged neighborhoods and bosses so powerful they can order killings from jail.