L’Affaire Criminelle

Unsolved Mysteries: The Marseille Bar Massacre

Who Was Responsible for the Execution of 10 Men in a Case Some Call the French St. Valentine’s Day Massacre?

France has long been a country of intense political passions and a violent criminal underworld that goes unnoticed by international observers. To those abroad, France remains a country of fine dining, high fashion, and charm. Yet, the country also has one of the highest murder rates in all of Europe, with organized crime, or le milieu (“the underworld”) being a particular issue. Known as the French Mob, nowhere is the scourge of les beaux voyous (“the goodfellas”) felt more keenly than Marseille, arguably the centre of organized crime in the country. That centre would be secured on October 3, 1978, when three armed men walked into a bar in the city. Minutes later, 10 people had been shot dead in an unsolved crime that some call the French St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Marseille has long been a city of contrasts. Rich and poor neighbourhoods sit directly alongside each other, and the city has been a centre of immigration throughout its history, thanks to its prominent nature on the Mediterranean. Algerians, Tunisians, and Moroccans live side-by-side with Italians, Poles, and Turks, creating one of…