GIGGLING as she tosses back her long blonde ponytail, the petite French teenager is a far cry from a stereotypical drug dealer.
But this slender young girl, nicknamed Ghost, is fighting to survive in the dangerous slum neighbourhoods of , .
Although Ghost is too terrified to share her real identity, she dares to admit that she is chased by gun-toting rival gang members up to ten times a day, with the cops hot on their heels too.
This is the reality of life for countless young people on the streets of Marseille, which has been dubbed Europe's most dangerous city following a record high of 49 drug-related murders in 2023.
Now, a hard-hitting new BBC sees explore the crime capital's dark underworld, talking to dangerous dealers, joining police raids and even tracking down a brazen hitman who boasts of blasting heads off with shotguns for €15,000 a pop.
Opening up on the shocking daily threats she encounters, Ghost brags: “The only danger is the or rival gangs shooting at us. If that happens I'll just crouch down or hide behind a car.
“I’m a girl, so if they’re men and they catch me they can’t search me. I move away as fast as I can, as fast as possible. If I have to run I run fast.”;
Ghost brandishes a clear freezer bag bulging with over a thousand euros worth of illegal , boasting that she can sell five times that amount some days.
But while business is brisk, she only earns €200 for herself.
The rest of her profits are creamed off by fearsome who rule the run-down estates north of the city, where many kids drop out of school early.
Around 40 per cent of 15-24-year-olds are – twice the national average.
In 2023 authorities seized seven tonnes of , €21million in criminal assets and 107 assault rifles.
In each episode of his new series, former footballer Ashley, 34, visits dangerous locations to meet people who have chosen life of “extreme criminality” with “no judgement, no agenda”.
He explains: “To do that I’m going to have to win their trust and get deep into their world. I may not condone what they do to get by, but by walking in their shoes can I at least understand them?”;
Narco wars
Travellingto the French port to investigate the deadly narco wars, Ashley wants to understand what motivates youngsters to get caught up in the underworld of rival gangs.
But outsiders are not welcome and he has to keep a low profile.
Wearing a stab vest in an unmarked car, he goes on an undercover night patrol with specialist cops whose job it is to protect vulnerable youngsters being preyed upon in the most dangerous districts, which are ruled by drug gangs.
Drugs pour into the well-connected port from , and France is now Europe’s leading cannabis consumer.
In Marseille, users order drugs via and they are delivered on scooters like takeaways.
But the police are underfunded and having trouble curbing the trafficking.
“It’s spooky. I can’t believe how organised they are, but f*** me it was good to find out,”; says Ashley.
Hitman horror
In the show's most shocking scenes, the star risks his safety to arrange a sinister meeting with a hitman.
Ashley wants to know how the paid killer can justify taking a life.
Fully disguised in a black balaclava, the hitman brandishes his selection of weapons and says: “On the streets of Marseille we use Kalashnikov rifles, revolvers and pump action shotguns.
“Basically anything that can be used to shoot. I have a preferred weapon, it is my revolver. It is very very powerful. It is discreet and works all the time.”;
The hitman then pulls out an enormous pump action shotgun and says: “That’s to clear everything. Finished, that’s to eliminate. No more head, nothing.
“It’s for when you’re faced with a lot of people.When you have to use it, you use it.”;
He admits he started selling drugs at the age of 16, before moving on to become a lookout, then he worked as a tout whose job it is to bring in customers to the dealers' dens.
He explained: “One day I was forced to do something that I kind of regret.My life hit rock bottom and I had to murder someone for money. You don’t think. If you think about it you won’t do it.”;
He says he earns about €15,000 (£12,800) for someone’s life and now feels he has no choice but to continue his reign of terror.
Reflecting on the shocking meeting, afterwards, Ashley says: “On one hand he was open, honest and nice but I can’t stop thinking about the victim's family.He hasn’t been caught, he hasn’t been punished.
“You meet extreme people doing extreme things in extreme places. A lot of the time they are nothing like you expected.You cannot take away what they have done.”;
Bosses behind bars
As part of his investigation, Ashley also manages to speak to a big-time drug boss who has been in prison for 25 years – but still manages to make a video call via Snapchat.
He has access to a phone, drugs and an inside his cell, and makes the astonishing admission that he is still making money dealing drugs from behind bars.
But to understand the dark elements of life in present-day Marseille, Ashley needs to learn of the past, so he meets a former gangster who is a surviving member of the city’s infamous French Connection gang – immortalised in the Hollywood film about the drugs trade back in the 1970s and 1980s.
The veteran gangster, who spent years in prison, is well respected by the younger street dealers who freely tell him that they are selling cocaine, hash and weed “to survive”.
Some say they are the breadwinners and need to deal to pay the rent and provide food for their families.
“One wrong look and you could lose your life,”; admits one anonymous teen.
They show Ashley their stashes of drugs but refuse to answer questions about how much money they make and confess that they “do not have any dreams”;.
“It breaks my heart,”; says Ashley later. “These poor neighbourhoods really have been abandoned by the authorities.”;
Flickers of hope
But Ashley also meets one victim of a shooting who has turned his life around by landing a job in a local restaurant.
He says: “I dream of positive things, that everyone succeeds in the neighbourhood and everyone gets on well.”;
And Ashley tells him: “This is a lot safer and more honest than what is happening out there.”;
As part of the film, the former Coventry City star is granted access to a dangerous ‘drug shop' where there are menus of the narcotics available spray painted on the walls.
One day I was forced to something that I kind of regret.My life hit rock bottom and I had to murder someone for money
Marseille hitman
But the seedy den is raided just before they arrive.
Instead, he has the chance to speak to the 17-year-old boy who is acting as a lookout for police – he has put out a roadblock to slow down cop cars.
Ashley says: “There is f*** all for anyone to do here. I feel on edge, I can’t imagine having to live here.”;
Community worker Momo explains why these youngsters choose a life of crime
“The situation has become chaotic,”; he says. “The youth of today is drifting, they are lost.”;
A local rapper known as Hitch aims to be a role model, saying: “If my music can help young people evolve into something better that’s better.”;
Ashley agrees: “It’s a way to get out of this life, to live a better life, to spread hope.”;
