The Prime Minister of France, Jean-Marc Ayrault, is travelling Marseilles to meet with leaders there to discuss the security situation.
A spate of drug-related murders have plagued the Mediterranean port over the last three years with the most recent shooting involving 40 bullets fired from Kalashnikov rifles.
France’s central government has refused to send in troops, opting instead to designate special security zones in Marseilles, which are eligible for extra funding.
The Prime Minister is set to visit the public hospital and to meet with local leaders to discuss developments since special action was taken in September 2012.