PARIS, July 21 - A mayor in southern France was whisked from his home during the night and placed in police protection after authorities got wind of a potential attack against him by the country's top drug gang, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident marks a milestone in France's grinding battle against mounting drug crime after years of record-breaking cocaine imports from Latin America turbocharged the domestic narcotics trade. While gangland killings are increasingly common across France, attacks against elected officials are rare.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said he took the decision to remove Alès mayor Christophe Rivenq after credible intelligence suggested an attack was imminent by members of the DZ Mafia.

Originating in Marseille, about 160 kilometers (99 miles) south of Alès, the fast-growing DZ Mafia has morphed from a local player into one of France's main security threats due to its domination of the drug trade.

"Alès is clearly a place where the DZ Mafia is trying to establish a foothold," Nunez told reporters.

Rivenq had already been threatened earlier this month, when 9mm bullets were found in his mailbox along with threatening graffiti on the walls of his home, France's National Prosecutor's Office for the Fight Against Organized Crime (PNACO) said.

PNACO, a recently created unit tasked with tackling the DZ Mafia and France's surging drug crime, said it had taken over the case from Marseille prosecutors.

Rivenq did not immediately reply to a request for comment sent to his LinkedIn.

France's illicit drug market nearly tripled in value between 2010 and 2023, rising from an estimated €2.3 billion to €6.8 billion, according to a report published in December 2025 by the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT). REUTERS

French mayor taken from his home and placed under protection after drug gang threats