A spate of gangland killings in France has brought the country to a "tipping point", a senior government minister says, with drug-related violence spreading to previously unaffected towns and cities.

There has been outrage in the nation following a gangland shootout in the city of Poitiers, south-west of Paris, that left one teenage boy dead and four others injured.

Here's what happened, and why it may have dramatic political repercussions.

Boy dies after gangland shootout, 60-person brawl

On Friday, a wave of recent violence culminated in a shooting outside a restaurant in Poitliers, leaving a 15-year-old boy in a critical condition with a gunshot wound to his head.

He later died in hospital.

Four other teenagers were also wounded, and police said they found 10 bullet casings at the scene.

One eyewitness told local news channel BFMTV there were "hundreds of people" in the area involved in the brawl, although authorities later said they believed up to 60 people were engaged in fighting.

French newsagency AFP said increasingly violent gangland turf wars had "raised alarm nationwide".

The spread of France's 'web of corruption' 

The Mediterranean city of Marseille has long been considered the epicentre of gangland violence and the drug trade in France.

In that city alone, 49 people were killed last year in so-called "narchomicides", or drug-related killings.

But violence has now spread to other cities, fuelled by a drug-trafficking trade estimated to be worth 3 to 6 billion euros ($5 billion to $10 billion).

In recent weeks, a man was shot in the head in the city of Valence and a five-year child was struck by two bullets during a car chase in Rennes.

In May, a crime figure known as "The Fly" escaped jail after the prison convoy he was being transported in was daringly intercepted.

Heavily armed fighters killed two prison guards and wounded three more, and the escapee, Mohamed Amra, is still on the run.

Gang violence could 'threaten our sovereignty'

These incidents have sparked alarm from French interior minister Bruno Retailleau.

"On French territory I see enclaves, micro-states, drug enclaves that are forming," he said.

"The 'narco thugs' have no limits any more … These shootouts aren't happening in South America, they're happening in Rennes, in Poitiers," Mr Retailleu said.

"We're at a tipping point."

He said the country faced either "full mobilisation" or drug-fuelled gangland violence similar to that experienced in Mexico.

Concerns over violence push France to the right

For some French people who remember last year's riots following the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old boy Nahel Merzouk, the prospect of a crackdown on street violence may evoke some concern.

But France's new centre-right government has vowed tougher action against illegal immigration and drug gangs.

There is also a political aspect to the urgency.

In recent years, concerns over violent crime have helped fuel support for far-right parties, in particular Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN).

Recent elections resulted in a hung parliament, with RN becoming one of the largest parties.

ABC/Reuters/AFP