A 15-year-old boy shot in the head during a bloody shootout between drug gangs in the west of France on Saturday died of his wounds, the regional prosecutor announced, as the interior minister warned the country was at risk of "Mexicanisation" due to rising drug crime.
The teen had been in intensive care since the shootings Thursday evening in the city of Poitiers, which have raised alarm nationwide over increasing violence in gangland turfwars that are making the streets unsafe.
Four other minors, aged between 15 and 16, were also injured by gunshots fired in front of a restaurant in a the city in the incident which involved dozens of people.
Officers used tear gas to break up the fight, restoring order around 45 minutes after arriving on the scene, the source added.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on Friday that France's struggle with drug-related violence is at a "tipping point", with the nation facing a choice between "full mobilisation or the 'Mexicanisation' of the country.
Mexico has suffered more than 450,000 drug-related killings since the government started using the military to fight its notorious drug cartels in 2006.
Gangland violence long associated with Mediterranean port city Marseille has expanded into other French cities in recent years.
Victims can include gang members, some of them minors guarding dealing spots or employed as hitmen, but also innocent bystanders.