After threats against the mayor of Alès, Delafosse calls for more resources for the justice system

Alès – 23 July 2026: Following serious threats against the mayor of Alès, Christophe Rivenq, Michaël Delafosse, the Socialist mayor of Montpellier, has called for a decisive state response against drug trafficking. The case has meanwhile taken on a national judicial dimension: on 21 July, the National Anti-Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office, PNACO, took over the investigation into the intimidation directed at Rivenq.

On 16 July, graffiti was discovered at the home of the mayor of Alès with an alleged reference to the criminal group DZ Mafia, along with two nine-millimetre cartridges. During the night of 20 to 21 July, new threats led to Rivenq being urgently moved to a protected location. Police deployed specialised RAID units.

Delafosse stated that the case requires a firm and decisive response against drug trafficking. In particular, he called for additional resources for the justice system. According to his own statements, the mayor of Montpellier has also previously been threatened. His intervention reflects the growing concern among many municipal politicians that drug-related organised crime is no longer putting direct pressure only on major metropolitan areas, but increasingly on medium-sized cities as well.

PNACO stated that it is handling all threats against Rivenq. The investigation is being conducted by the national judicial police, including the Central Office for Combating Organised Crime, as well as regional police directorates. The takeover of the case by the national authority underlines that the justice system is investigating the possible connection to organised crime beyond the local level.

PNACO, operational since January 2026, was created by the law of 13 June 2025 to combat drug trafficking. Its role is to coordinate complex proceedings targeting criminal networks. Its jurisdiction does not replace the work of local prosecutors’ offices or investigators, but rather concentrates particularly relevant or cross-border cases at national level.

For Alès, the case is part of a context of tension that has persisted for some time. The city in the Gard department has faced visible drug-selling points and disputes over their control for several years. Investigators are still examining whether the markings that appeared actually came from members of DZ Mafia or whether its name was used for intimidation. So far, no attribution has been judicially established.

The political significance of the case lies above all in the attack on a municipal officeholder. Mayors depend on the police, the prefecture and the public prosecutor’s office to combat local sales structures, but they themselves have only limited criminal-law powers. Delafosse’s call for a stronger justice system is therefore directed at the entire criminal prosecution chain: investigation, prosecution, conviction and enforcement must be effectively coordinated in the face of organised crime.