The reference was deliberate. The mayor of Colombes, a suburb of 85,000 north-west of Paris, knew comparing his town to Marseilles - where a drug related crime wave has left more than a dozen dead - would get the media's attention. At the start of September, two shootings within 24 hours left at least one man with bullet wounds to the legs. French Interior Minister Manuel Valls has visited the neighbourhood and promised 70 extra police officers in the area. But locals say it's not enough.
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