Primarily, organized crime in France is based in its urban, major cities such as

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, and

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

. Organized criminals are collectively known as the French Mob and singularly known as ''les beaux voyous'' (; i.e. "the goodfellas") operating within ''Le Milieu'' (; i.e. " the underworld") also called today ''Grand banditisme''.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'' From the 1900s to the late 1930s, activities within ''Le Milieu'' were primarily

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

bookmaking A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookm ...

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

, and hijacking. Favored criminal activity in France turned to

bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...

, and smuggling from 1940 to the late 1970s. The 1980s saw a resurgence of large-scale bank robberies and heists. From 1990 to 2000, criminal organizations established complex

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

rings in

extending to

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille ...

and the greater

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from ...

. Since 2002, ''Le Milieu'' is known for, in addition to its extortion rings, large

counterfeit To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

ing and white-collar crime operations. Due to increased financial regulation, ''Le Milieu'' has collectively pushed to integrate their crime profits into the legal economy. France's

geographical location In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...

makes it an attractive venue for

trafficking Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

(i.e. smuggling) and counterfeiting. The

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

of Marseille is a hub for ''Le Milieu'' to move large amounts of product into domestic and European markets. Low economic development continues to be the largest factor in youth joining French criminal organizations. The most prominent criminal organization within ''Le Milieu'' is the

Corsican mafia The Corsican mafia is a set of criminal groups originating from Corsica, which are partially independent of but also closely tied to and participating heavily in both the French underworld and Italian Mafia. The Corsican mafia is an influential ...

(''milieu corse''). Although the mafia has encompassed many criminal groups from the 1960s to the 1980s, modern (1990s–present) criminal activity is managed by the Marseille-based '' Unione Corse'' and Northern Corsica–based '' Gang de la Brise de Mer'' (i.e. "the sea breeze gang"). In 2007, an internal conflict led to the deaths of 102 people on the island of Corsica fracturing the influence of the two larger groups in the island ( Brise de mer gang and Colonna family). These two mobs remain powerful as of 2018, often controlling

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gen ...

s, bars, restaurants, apartments, and hotels in

and the

. In 2016, it was estimated that France's organized crime net US$23 billion in its

underground economy A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the ...

Terms used

The term Milieu literally means ''middle'' and figuratively ''

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

'' or ''

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

'', it is used as a short for Le Milieu criminel (criminal environment) or Le Milieu interlope (illegal environment). Its a generic term that can be used designate any type criminal society (eg: ''Le Milieu chinois'', short for ''Le Milieu criminel chinois'', the chinese criminal underworld), when used without additional info or context (''Le Milieu'') it is infered as native historical french criminal society and it refers to the set of criminal figures operating in the French metropolitan areas who are known to the public for being involved in high level organized crime. Members working within the ''Milieu'' are collectively known as the French Mob. This category does not include criminal organizations that were formed in another country and operate within France (e.g. the Campanian

Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type org ...

, Serbian Mafia,

Albanian mafia Albanian mafia or Albanian organized crime ( sq, Mafia Shqiptare) are the general terms used for criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians. Albanian organized crime is active in Europe, North America, South America ...

, Chinese Triads, or the Kurdish terrorist

PKK The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sout ...

). French mobs considered within the ''milieu'' are usually ones with long-standing ties to the country. An increase in youth-centered gang activity lead to the separation of the ''Milieu''. * "Traditional ''Milieu''" (1930 to 1989): encompasses the older, foundational criminal organizations of the French underworld * "French

" or "Milieu corso-marseillais" (1990–present): encompasses the newer, modern criminal groups in France and

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

Organization

Due to the early historical connection the

shares with the Sicilian one, the modern structure of most French mobs typically break down into crime families with a strict hierarchy. Usually the goodfellas that carry out "orders" are known as ''une équipe multi-qualifiée'' (i.e. a multi-skilled team) composed of ''les beaux voyous'' (i.e. "the good fellows"). Most of these groups of members maintain and protect "mouvances" (i.e.

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

). Members of the French Mob are highly professional as compared to lower-level crime groups in that they usually split their work by specialty (e.g. some members serve as the "brain", while others the "muscle" and/or "specialist". * ''Caïd'' (French: ay-id"the big boss"; "the boss") * ''Parrain'' (French: ah-rahn"godfather") * ''Spécialiste'' (French: peh-sjah-leest"specialist") * ''Associés'' ("associate") * ''Beaux voyous'' ( ow vwah-yo"goodfella"; "the good fellows") Externally, and more generally, the organization of the French mob is as follows: * ''Le Milieu'' (French: []) "the underworld") / The French Mob: a general term for criminal organizations in France * Mafia-type criminal organizations (e.g. the

): a criminal network composed of

crime families A crime family is a unit of an organized crime syndicate, particularly in Italian organized crime and especially in the Sicilian Mafia and Italian American Mafia, often operating within a specific geographic territory or a specific set of activ ...

* Gangs (e.g. Rédoine Faïd gang, '' Gang des postiches''): a smaller criminal group with a soft hierarchy * Crime families (e.g. Carbone crime family): a subset of a mafia-type organization that executes orders and/or missions

Activities and strategies

According to a 2004 study on

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

, the activities of criminals within the French underworld typically fall into three broad categories: * Wholly illegal activity: criminal activities that are blatantly and duly illegal e.g. racketeering, kidnapping, armed robbery, trafficking, assault, etc. * Associative illegal activity: criminal activities associated with their main wholly illegal activities e.g.

bribery Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Cor ...

, corruption of police officials, tax fraud,

grand theft auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily d ...

, etc. * Legal activity: activities used to cover up illegal activities e.g. operating a business for

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdicti ...

purposes, running gambling machines, restaurants, etc.

History

Origins: 1910s to 1920s

The history of organized crime in France can be traced to the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

(1789 to 1799). It is however with the turn of the 20th century that local mobsters became highly organized and created

. During the 1910s and 1920s,

Pigalle Pigalle may refer to: Places ;Paris, France *Quartier Pigalle, an area in Paris around the Place Pigalle, on the border between the 9th and the 18th arrondissements *Place Pigalle, public square in the Quartier Pigalle at the foot of the Montmartre ...

and Rue Saint-Denis (in Paris) served as a hub for

. Due to decentralized political control in

during the 1900s, many criminal organizations flourished. Members of these gangs moved from the island of Corsica to the southern coasts of France during the early 20th century. From 1920 to 1930, prostitution was the most important criminal activity, controlled in Marseille by the Corsican Godfather,

Paul Carbone Paul Bonnaventure Carbone (1 February 1894 – 16 December 1943) was a Corsican criminal involved in the Marseille underworld from the 1920s until his death in 1943. He was known as the ''Emperor of Marseille''. Associated with François Spiri ...

and the Italian-French Godfather François Spirito. In Paris, the

area were fought over by Corsican godfathers such as Jean-Paul Stefani and Ange Saliceti.

"French Connection": 1930s to 1970s

During the 1940s and 1950s, many gangs — most notably the Tractions Avant gang – committed large scale

bank robberies Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...

. During the 1970s, the most powerful gang in Paris was the Zemmour crime family, a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

pied noir The ''Pieds-Noirs'' (; ; ''Pied-Noir''), are the people of French and other European descent who were born in Algeria during the period of French rule from 1830 to 1962; the vast majority of whom departed for mainland France as soon as Alg ...

clan. The Zemmour brothers controlled prostitution in the French capital and were considered to be Godfathers of Paris. As prostitution decreased, criminal activities turned to more

white-collar crime The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. It was first defined by the sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as "a ...

s. In 1930, the two godfathers ( Carbone and Spirito) spearheaded the French Connection – a global

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...

smuggling ring reaching its peak in the 1960s and 1970s. Drugs were smuggled from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

to France and then to the United States through Canada. The French Connection was guided by various crime families into the late 1970s before it was disbanded by French authorities. The "Milieu of Marseille" (i.e. "the underworld of Marseille") was left without political leadership after the French Connection was destroyed. The Unione Corse established widespread infrastructure in the 1930s and helped guide the ''Milieu'' out of the French Connection era.

"The Godfathers": 1980s

CALLEMIN attitude trois-quarts casquette

During the 1980s, many "godfathers" (e.g. Tany Zampa,

Jacky Imbert Jacques Imbert (30 December 1929 – 11 November 2019) was a French gang leader who first came to prominence in 1960s Marseille's underworld, where he was considered "The Last Godfather". His nickname "''Jacky le Mat''" means "Jacky the ma ...

, and Francis Vanverberghe) fought for control over racketeering and

in the port area of Marseille. It was during this time that the Zemmour brothers — known as "The Godfathers of Paris" — were killed. Claude Genova quickly assumed the gap the brothers left and continued running low-level prostitution rings until his 1994 assassination. The '' Gang des postiches'' robbed nearly 30 banks during their run from 1981 to 1986. Claude Genova's connections and infrastructure was overtaken by the Hornec brothers in 1994.

Push to extortion: 1990–2000

At the start of the 1990s, cities were split up by families or "godfathers" (''parrains''). Larger cities, however, were fractured into various "mouvances" (

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

). Many of these crime families established complex

rings in

extending to

and the greater

The Rédoine Faïd gang, during the mid-1990s committed

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

, jewel theft, and

in the Paris area. The leader of the gang, Rédoine Faïd, was arrested in 2011. He broke out of prison on 13 April 2013 with a staged bombing and fled, but was captured on 29 May 2013.

Revitalization: 2000–present

Minority members of French society are being lured into crime families as a way of "fitting in". Low economic growth in the south of France is also leading youth to join the ranks as drug mules to gain an income alternative. An increase in youth-centered gang activity lead to the separation of the Milieu. Since the 1990s, the French Corsican mafia (''Milieu corso-marseillais'' has encompassed the newer, modern criminals in an effort to distinguish them from the "traditional ''Milieu''" (1930s to 1980s). During the early 2000s, French

Maghrebis Maghrebis or Maghrebians ( ar, المغاربيون) is a modern Arabic term meaning "Westerners", mainly referring to the western part of the Arab world and North Africa. Maghrebis are predominantly of Arab and Berber or mixed Arab-Berber orig ...

( Algerians,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

ns and

Moroccans Moroccans (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Kingdom of Morocco. The country's population is predominantly composed of Arabs and Berbers (Amazigh). The term also applies more broadly to any people who are of Moroccan nationality, sh ...

) living in impoverished suburbs created the ''Les Caïds des Cités'' (i.e. " rent-controlled housing crime lords"). Members of this group extort landlords in most major French cities. In August 2012, Les Caïds became involved in drug and

weapons trafficking Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal trade of small arm ...

which led to the death of 14 civilians. Inter-gang fighting led to a spike in murder rates on the island of Corsica in 2008. In 2010, The "Venzolasca Gang" penetrated large amounts of territory previously occupied by the Brise de Mer Gang. In 2011, it was reported that various North African gangs had moved to the suburbs of Paris in order to sell

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

. Members of these gangs introduced heroin and pure cocaine to their business operations in 2015. On 18 October 2011, a large holding of art was stolen from the Musée des Beaux-Arts in

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the '' Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsic ...

, Corsica, by the Valinco, Brise de Mer, and Venzolasca gangs. In 2014, there was also an influx of "Voyageurs" or "Traveller" gangs in Paris,

, and

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. In 2018, 290,053 people l ...

. The most famous of them is the Hornec crime family; they regularly participate in

robberies Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

, drug trafficking,

, and illegal slots machines. Their hubs of operation are in the

Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the '' ...

and the

Étang de Berre The Étang de Berre (in Provençal Occitan: ''estanh de Bèrra / mar de Bèrra'' according to classical orthography, ''estang de Berro / mar de Berro'' according to Mistralian orthography) is a brackish water lagoon on the Mediterranean coast ...

regions.

List of French mobs

The following lists contains historical and contemporary renditions of

groups originating and/or operating in France. Mobs that also serve as

are denoted accordingly.

List of crime families

Crime families A crime family is a unit of an organized crime syndicate, particularly in Italian organized crime and especially in the Sicilian Mafia and Italian American Mafia, often operating within a specific geographic territory or a specific set of activ ...

in France are smaller units of mobs (i.e. a crime syndicate) which are in-turn either smaller units of a

mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

group or the general ''Milieu''. Alternately the phrase "crime family" could also mean the entirety of a mob, if it is small enough. The following list encompasses groups that are solely crime families and do not double as French mobs: * Corsican mafia ** Unione Corse (

, French Riviera, France and

, Corsica) *** Francisci crime family *** Guerini brothers (defunct) *** Orsini crime family (defunct) *** Venturi crime family (defunct) *** Carbone crime family (defunct) *** Sarti crime family (defunct) *** Mondoloni crime family (defunct) *** Barbieri crime family (

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

-based) *** Barresi crime family *** Campanella crime family ** ''Brise de mer'' gang (

Bastia Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...

, northern Corsica and France) *** Mariani crime family *** Casanova crime family *** Guazzelli crime family *** Patacchini crime family ** Colonna crime family (southern Corsica) * ''Travelers'' families ** Hornec crime family * Other major groups ** Perletto crime family (defunct) ** Zampa crime family (defunct) ** Zemmour crime family (defunct)

In popular culture

* ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1963),

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

novel and film (1969), wherein a character heads the French Mafia and is of Corsican descent. *'' The French Connection'' (1971), American film on the heroin trade, based on the book of the same name *''

Les Brigades du Tigre ''The Tiger Brigades'' (french: Les Brigades du Tigre) is a 2006 French crime film. Based on a very successful 1970s-'80s French television series of the same name the film depicts an Untouchables-type crack "Flying Squad" once formed by George ...

'' (2006), French crime film loosely based on the Le Milieu *In the film '' American Gangster'' (2007), the Corsican mafia attempt to murder

Frank Lucas Frank Lucas (September 9, 1930 – May 30, 2019) was an American drug trafficker who operated in Harlem, New York City, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly f ...

after he puts them out of business through his

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

on the

trade in Harlem. *''

A Prophet ''A Prophet'' (french: Un prophète) is a 2009 French prison crime film directed by Jacques Audiard with a screenplay by Audiard, with Thomas Bidegain, Abdel Raouf Dafri, and Nicolas Peufaillit, from a story by Dafri. The film stars Tahar Rahi ...

'', 2009 French drama film centering on a petty criminal who rises in the Corsican mob * ''

22 Bullets ''22 Bullets'' (french: L'Immortel) is a 2010 French gangster-action film directed by Richard Berry. It tells a part of the life story of Jacky Imbert, and is based on the novel ''L'Immortel'' (2007) by Franz-Olivier Giesbert. Filming began on ...

'' (2010), French film based on the leader of the ''Bande des Trois Canards'',

References

Notes

Citations

External links

*Oliver Junge
Wenn der Bock zum Gärtner wird
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German), 7 February 2017, retrieved 27 June 2017 * Ursula Schee

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German), 16.06.2015, retrieved 27 June 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Milieu