How cartels seized control of the French underworld

In a scene straight out of a thriller, notorious former French mafia boss Jean-Pierre Maldera - dubbed 'the godfather' of the underworld - was gunned down and then brutally run over on the A41 motorway near Grenoble on Wednesday morning.

According to authorities, the 1980s regional crime bigwig was ambushed following a high-speed car chase. Shocking video footage circulating online shows a shattered white BMW left stranded on the road, its driver's window smashed beyond recognition.

Grenoble's deputy public prosecutor, Francois Touret de Coucy, revealed that Maldera was 'fired on with a Kalashnikov' – with one bullet piercing his elbow.

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