Conflict · DZ Mafia · ArchiveFrench Mayor Evacuated After DZ Mafia Car Bomb Threat, Bullets Sent to His HomeAired July 22, 2026 at 2:52 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00The mayor of a small French city was0:01secretly evacuated overnight after elite0:04raid tactical police received credible0:06intelligence of a DZ Mafia car bomb plot0:08targeting city hall. Mayor Christophe0:10Rivenq was pulled from his home after0:12his wife discovered threatening graffiti0:13on their property walls and an envelope0:16containing two 9-mm bullets signed by0:18the gang. The threats demanded a halt to0:19anti-drug police operations in Alès.0:22This was not the first warning. Earlier0:24in July, 9-mm bullets were already found0:26in the mayor's mailbox. Interior0:28Minister Laurent Nunez ordered the0:30evacuation and confirmed Alès is where0:32the DZ Mafia is trying to establish a0:34foothold. The gang originated in0:36Marseille and has been expanding to0:38nearby cities across southern France0:40bringing its brutal tactics with it.0:42Alès is a quiet town of about 50,0000:45people, not the kind of place you would0:46expect a car bomb threat against the0:48mayor, but the drug violence has been0:50escalating fast. France's illegal drug0:53market nearly tripled in value over 130:55years from $2.3 billion in 2010 to $6.80:59billion in 2023. That explosive growth1:01fuels organizations like the DZ Mafia as1:03they fight over territory. That violence1:05has already reached Alès twice this1:07year. In January, a 54-year-old was shot1:10dead in a drug-related killing. In June,1:12an 18-year-old was also gunned down and1:15now the threats have been directed at1:16the mayor himself. The Interior Minister1:18made clear the government sees Alès as a1:21critical battleground in the fight1:22against organized crime. A new national1:25task force against organized crime was1:27inaugurated in January of this year. The1:29investigation into the threats against1:31Mayor Rivenq has now been transferred to1:33the specialized interregional1:35jurisdiction of Marseille and the1:36National Prosecutor's Office for the1:38fight against organized crime as French1:40authorities move to stop the DZ Mafia1:42from digging in deeper.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗