The southern town of Alès was thrust at the forefront of France’s drug wars this week when it emerged its mayor had been taken from his home at night and placed in police custody – for his own safety. Christophe Rivenq, a member of the conservative Les Républicains party, was whisked away by the elite RAID police unit in the early hours of Tuesday after authorities got wind of a potential attack against him. He remains under police protection at an undisclosed location. The incident marks a further escalation in France’s battle against deadly drug crime that has brought bloodshed and fear to Marseille, the country’s second-largest city, and beyond. Read more‘Radicalised by crime’: Teen hitmen take Marseille’s grisly drug violence to new level Drug-related killings have become increasingly common, promoted in chilling social media footage and often involving children coerced into the trade. Attacks against elected officials, however, have so far remained rare. Bullets in the mailbox Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said he took the decision to remove the mayor of Alès after credible intelligence suggested an attack was imminent by members of the DZ Mafia, a powerful gang originating in Marseille, about 160 kilometres (99 miles) south of Alès. “Alès is clearly a place where the DZ Mafia is trying to establish a foothold,” Nunez told reporters on Tuesday. Local media cited reports of a suspicious vehicle parked near Rivenq’s home that police believed may have been laden with explosives.