Overview
- During a day in Marseille, Emmanuel Macron announced the drug-use fine will rise to €500 and pledged tighter international cooperation to pursue network leaders and seize their assets.
- He began the visit with a private moment at the Saint-Henri cemetery at the tomb of Mehdi Kessaci, whose killing last month shocked the city and galvanized local activism.
- Macron inaugurated a new police station for the 13th and 14th arrondissements and the Baumettes 3 prison extension, which adds 740 places to ease overcrowding.
- The president rejected installing the new national anti-organised crime prosecutor’s office (Pnaco) in Marseille, as Mayor Benoît Payan renewed calls for a Pnaco presence, stable police-judicial teams and stronger public services.
- The Élysée defended progress on the €5 billion ‘Marseille en grand’ plan, saying roughly two-thirds of credits are now engaged, while auditors and critics note slow delivery, with 15 schools completed and 86 under way.