Organized crime in France
| Founding location | France |
|---|---|
| Territory | Most major cities in France |
| Criminal activities | Arms trafficking, Drug trafficking, Money laundering, arson, Assault, counterfeiting, Extortion, Fraud, Human trafficking, illegal gambling, Kidnapping, Murder, prostitution, Racketeering, Theft. |
The Milieu is a category of organized criminals operating in France.[1] Today, these groups are quite often not ethnically French.[2] Criminal groups associated with the Milieu work in every major city in France, but are mostly concentrated in Marseille, Grenoble, Paris, and Lyon.[3]
Meaning of the word
The term Milieu means "underworld" and refers to the criminal figures operating in the French metropolitan areas who are known to the public for being involved in high level organized crime. This category does not include criminal organizations that were formed in another country, such as the Italian Camorra,[4] the Albanian mafia, Chinese Triads, Serbian mafia[5] or the Turkish Kurd PKK- or Sri Lankan LTTE-affiliated criminal clans[6] that are known to operate in France.
Instead, milieu is a type of criminal organization founded in France with long-standing ties to the country.[7] The most significant of these are the Corsicans, the Maghrebis and French Blacks and the Gitans (ethnic Manush and ethnic Yeniche).
History of Milieu
The "Milieu" was represented until the end of the 1990s by "Godfathers" ("Parrains" in French), who generally controlled a city. The "traditional Milieu" is the direct successor of this "Godfathers era".
In Paris, from the 1920s to the 1980s, the predominant areas of criminal activities were prostitution places (Pigalle, Rue Saint-Denis). Pigalle was the neighbourhood of many famous gangsters of the French capital (especially Corsican Godfathers like Jean-Paul Stefani, Ange Saliceti etc.). Many influential gangs were based in Paris, such as the Tractions Avant gang during the 1940s and 1950s, which was involved in many robberies throughout the country. During the 1970s the most powerful gang in Paris was the Zemmour crime family (a Jewish/pied noir clan). The Zemmour brothers controlled prostitution in the French capital and were considered to be Godfathers of Paris before their assassinations in the early 1980s. After Zemmour's fall, prostitution has been gradually deserted by the milieu and the major criminal areas of Paris became the poor suburbs (Montreuil, Saint-Ouen, Aubervilliers, the Banlieue Sud etc.) with drug trafficking, robberies and many other activities. Since the 1980s, many gangsters from the Banlieues or the poor neighbourhoods were prominent in the Paris underworld (Claude Genova until his assassination in 1994, the Gang des postiches until their disbandment in 1986, the Hornec brothers, the Banlieue Sud mobsters, Rédoine Faïd and many others since the 1990s).
In Marseille, there is a long criminal history. During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, like in Paris, prostitution was the most important criminal activity, controlled by the two Godfathers Paul Carbone and François Spirito. Then, between the 1950s and 1970s the major activity was drug trafficking with the French Connection (probably organized by Corsican clans such as the Guerini crime family, the Venturi crime family and many others). After the French Connection disbandment, the "Milieu" of Marseille was dominated by the Italian-French gangster Tany Zampa, who was in conflict with Jacky "Mad Jacky" Imbert and Francis "the Belgian" Vanverberghe (in French "Francis le Belge") for the control of racketeering and drug trafficking. After Zampa's arrest in 1983 and his suicide one year later, the Marseille "underworld" was headed by the Mad Jacky gang and Francis Vanverberghe until the end of the 1990s. Francis "The Belgian" is considered to be the last "Godfather" of Marseille-he was murdered in Paris in 2000. The main activities and businesses of Vanverberghe were taken over by Corsican gangsters and several mob bosses of Marseille after his death.
Contemporary Milieu
While the word used to be associated with the loosely organized French gangsters and criminals of various origin (Italians, Corsicans, Pieds-noirs, Kabyles etc.) that operated in France, nowadays the word is mostly associated with the two most powerful types of homegrown organized crime. One of them has an older tradition of criminal activity in France, while the other is a newer arrival in the criminal underworld.
Both types are known for being extremely violent and ruthless. The growing murder rates within the Corsican gangland can be attributed to the first, while many of the gangland executions in Marseille can be attributed to the second, newer type of criminal outfit.
The Corsican mafia
| Founding location | Corsica |
|---|---|
| Territory | France, West African countries (particularly Gabon, Cameroon and Senegal) and several South American and Caribbean countries. |
| Ethnicity | Corsican |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, weapon trafficking, extortion, illegal gambling, fraud, armed robbery, contract killing and money laundering |
| Allies | Russian mafia, Cosa Nostra, South American cartels |
The Corsican mafia is the Corsican criminal gangs that have long been operating in Corsica and on the French mainland, particularly in Marseille.[8] They are known for being involved in a wide range of criminal activities and also for being very secretive and extremely violent, reflecting the climbing murder rates on the island of Corsica.[9]
Currently, many gangs operate in Corsica. In Northern Corsica there is the Brise de Mer Gang (today troubled by an internal conflict between the old and the new generation of the gang, which has caused around thirty murders on the island since 2008) and the "Venzolasca Gang" (also named the "Shepherds/Robbers" gang). The Venzolasca gang is a new Corsican gang who appeared at the end of the 2000s.
In Southern Corsica, the accidental death of the Godfather Jean-Jé Colonna, in 2006, caused a conflict for his succession (occasioning around fifty murders in the area since 2006).
The Corsican mafia gangs are very powerful in Corsica, but also in the South of France (they control many nightclubs, bars and restaurants in Aix-en-Provence, Marseille and the French Riviera). The Corsican gangs are also suspected to control the gambling clubs in Paris, and many gambling activities in African countries.
The French Corsican mafia ("Le Milieu corso-marseillais")
The "Milieu corso-marseillais" is a term to describe the gangster families of Corsican origin which have been established for a long time in the major cities of southern France (primarily in Marseille, but also in Toulon and the French Riviera). They are part of the "traditional" Milieu. The "corso-marseillais" are the successors of the French Connection gangsters (often named Unione Corse by American authorities). In Marseille they are involved in illegal slot machines, money laundering in legal businesses, extortion, drug trafficking and robberies. They are suspected to have good connections with French politics.
Example
Les Caïds Des Cités
| Founding location | the disadvantaged areas of major french cities (Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, North Marseille neighborhoods etc.) |
|---|---|
| Territory | France, Spain, Netherlands |
| Ethnicity | Predominantly Maghrebi (Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian), French Blacks (Senegalese, Cape Verdean, Martiniquean, Guadelupean), Yéniche and Manouche |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, weapon trafficking, armed robbery |
| Allies | South american cartels |
Les Caïds des Cités literally means The Caids of the Banlieues, or HLM crime lords. These are the organized criminal groups that have more recently appeared in the suburbs of most major French cities.[10] The criminal organizations are predominantly formed by French Maghrebis (Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans) and to a lesser extent French Blacks, Manouche and Yeniche Travellers living in these impoverished suburbs are increasingly involved in these gangs as well.[11][12][13]
They are known for their involvement in drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and murder. Although they are not as secretive as the Corsican gangs, they are just as ruthless. Recently a number of murders (mostly committed with AK-47s) and torture, including setting rivals on fire, in Marseille can be attributed to an intense drug war between organized criminal gangs from the suburbs.[14] Les caids des cités are said to be taking the place the "traditional" criminals used to have in the French Riviera over control of drug trafficking.
Crack Cocaine Gangs
At the beginning of the 80's crack cocaine was introduced to Europe (in the United Kingdom in particular) by Jamaican criminal groups named Yardies. Similar groups were created among the Caribbeans and African Blacks living in the impoverished French suburbs, especially of Paris. These groups, seen as the French version of the Yardies, were described as low-level petty drug dealers at first but increasingly began to organize themselves when the use of crack cocaine became popular.[15]
The market was first dominated by Caribbeans, notably Martinicans and Guadeloupeans. Nowadays the Antillians are far less prominent and most notably French people in the suburbs of West African descent like the Senegalese[16] and the Cape Verdeans[17] have been dominating the cocaine business.
The criminal groups specialising in crack cocaine alone are often based on the sale of the drug. The organization thrives on the sale of the drug and they are less focused on violence. They haven't reached the scale of violence the Yardies have in England or as the Marseille groups have.
Example
"Traveler" Gangs
| Territory | France, Spain, South American countries |
|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Manush, Gitanos[disambiguation needed] and Yéniche |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, armed robbery, extortion, prostitution, illegal slot machine vending, contract killing and money laundering |
| Allies | South american cartels |
The "traveler" gangs (in French "Gitans" or "Voyageurs") are criminal organizations of French Manush, Gitanos[disambiguation needed] and Yeniche. These gangs come from the caravan camps in the suburbs of French cities (like Paris, Marseille, Grenoble, Montpellier etc.). They are involved in many criminal activities (robberies, extortion, drug trafficking, Prostitution, illegal slots machines…). The most famous of them is the Hornec crime family.[18]
The Hornec are suspected to control the eastern suburbs of Paris and are very influential in the region of the French capital. Many traveler gangsters also operate in the South of France (Manush and Gitanos gangs are traditionally influential in the Camargue and the Étang de Berre region). These gangsters are often considered to be part of the "traditional Milieu" (unlike the HLM crime lords and Crack Cocaine Gangs who constitute the "New Milieu").[19]
Example
The Sephardis criminals / Carambouilleurs networks
| Ethnicity | Sephardi |
|---|---|
| Criminal activities | Confidence trick, fraud, Money laundering |
The traditional milieu is also connected with Pieds-Noirs criminals (often of Sephardi Jewish origin). Those criminal networks are often named Carambouilleurs (a French term meaning crook). The Pied-Noir/Sephardi crooks are involved in Confidence tricks, fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling in Paris and on the French Riviera. This new generation of criminals specializes in Financial crimes, while the previous generation of Sephardi gangsters was specialized in more general criminal activities such as extortion and prostitution (for instance the Zemmour crime family in the 1970s and 1980s).
Belgian Milieu
| Founding location | Liege |
|---|---|
| Territory | Belgium |
| Ethnicity | Predominantly Walloon |
| Criminal activities | Armed robbery, extortion, drug trafficking, weapon trafficking, prostitution, assassination, money laundering and contract killing |
| Allies | Sicilian mafia |
In analogy with France, indigenous organized crime in the French-speaking areas of Belgium is also often locally described as the Milieu. The most well-known local criminal underworld in Belgium is the Milieu Liègeois, originating from and based in the city and province of Liege.
Milieu Liègeois
The Milieu Liègeois describes a web of organized criminals and crime groups that emerged from the impoverished suburbs and towns surrounding the city of Liege.[20] The main activity of the Liege underworld is the professional, organized execution of brutal armed robberies on security vans in which often military-grade weapons such as AK-47s are violently put to use. Other criminal activities such as the extortion of businesses, illegally investing in real estate and drug and weapons trafficking are conducted as well.[21] Another major activity, which has previously led to infamous trials, is the committing of contract killings.[22] Due to a large Italian, primarily Sicilian, community in Liege, local gangsters appear to have connections to the Sicilian mafia, for whom they have committed murders.[23]
See also
References
- ^ Lalam, Nacer, "How organised is organised crime in France?" in Organised Crime in Europe: Concepts, Patterns and Control Policies in the European Union and Beyond
- ^ Lalam, Nacer, "How organised is organised crime in France?" in Organised Crime in Europe: Concepts, Patterns and Control Policies in the European Union and Beyond
- ^ Lalam, Nacer, "How organised is organised crime in France?" in Organised Crime in Europe: Concepts, Patterns and Control Policies in the European Union and Beyond
- ^ http://www.agoravox.fr/actualites/economie/article/la-camorra-a-paris-quand-le-boss-74266
- ^ http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/ChineseOrgCrime.pdf
- ^ http://asiantribune.com/node/12064
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=racuuTvkim4C&pg=PA359&lpg=PA359&dq
- ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,910391-1,00.html
- ^ http://www.france24.com/en/20121019-corsica-only-real-crime-murder-xavier-bonhomme-mafia-organised-sollacaro-france-lawyer
- ^ http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/les-caids-des-cites-nouveaux-rois-du-milieu-marseillais-02-04-2010-871509.php
- ^ http://www.lefigaro.fr/magazine/20070615.MAG000000445_guerre_des_dealers_dans_une_cite_interdite.html
- ^ http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2010/08/04/01016-20100804ARTFIG00535-les-caids-de-cite-succedent-aux-italo-grenoblois.php
- ^ http://cites2grenoble.skyrock.com/1349293262-A-Grenoble-Caid-de-cites-et-manouches-s-affrontent-dans-une-guerre.html
- ^ http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/379072/20120830/marseille-drug-war-killings-kalashnikov-government-refuses.htm
- ^ http://www.senat.fr/compte-rendu-commissions/20110523/toxico.html
- ^ http://www.marianne.net/Nouveaux-gangs-les-caids-des-cites-tiennent-les-stups_a221687.html
- ^ http://www.lepoint.fr/actualites-societe/2008-08-21/l-or-blanc-des-blacks-des-cites/920/0/268147
- ^ http://cites2grenoble.skyrock.com/1349293262-A-Grenoble-Caid-de-cites-et-manouches-s-affrontent-dans-une-guerre.html
- ^ http://cites2grenoble.skyrock.com/1349293262-A-Grenoble-Caid-de-cites-et-manouches-s-affrontent-dans-une-guerre.html
- ^ http://www.skynet.be/nieuws-sport/nieuws/dossier/401397/le-proces-du-milieu-liegeois?new_lang=nl
- ^ http://archives.lesoir.be/grand-banditisme-habran-et-son-gang-sous-les-verrous-en_t-19910617-Z042XD.html
- ^ http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=GT1VPL6E
- ^ http://www.crimescene.pro/ov045.html