“A chance” for Marseille, rejoiced Pierre-Marie Ganozzi, deputy mayor of Marseille in charge of the school plan. One more in the current sequence, where from the Macron plan to those of the municipality, projects are raining down on a city which must “catch up”, according to a formula repeated recently. This time, it is Renaud Muselier, the president of the Paca Region who seized on these words, on the occasion of the laying of the first stone of the future international school city of Marseille.
Ongoing discussions on access modalities
From the start of the 2024 school year, it will welcome nearly 2,200 students from the first year to the final year. Located in the Euro Méditerranée district, in the immediate vicinity of the CMA-CGM tower and the “new” Marseille business district, the international school city constitutes “a strong symbol of the attractiveness of our territory”, expressed Martine Vassal, the president of the department and the metropolis. Because this is one of the challenges of having an educational establishment with international classes.
Too often, executives of large companies are reluctant to live in Marseille, and prefer the tranquility of Aix-en-Provence or Cassis. “We want to show the CSP + that Marseille cares about its children,” summarizes Pierre-Marie Ganozzi. However, the establishment will also be accessible to children from the neighboring 3rd arrondissement, “one of the poorest districts in France, if not in Europe,” recalls the elected municipal official who mentions “ongoing discussions with the rector ”on the terms of access. “We do not want a school that is 100% children of senior executives, but a real social mix”.
The “Jacques Chirac” school city
Designed by architects Rudy Ricciotti and Roland Carta – who had already designed the Mucem together – the four-handed plan of this building promises an eco-responsible achievement. With a reinforcement in fiber-reinforced concrete, all produced locally, and a site 80% carried out by regional companies, as well as a large volume of greening, the architects intend to make this building a model. The project management was entrusted to Bouygues for an amount of 100 million euros divided between the Region (51 million euros), the Department (36 million euros) and the City (13 million euros) .
Finally, this international school city will bear the name of Jacques Chirac. An announcement made in the presence of his daughter, Claude. A choice explained at length by Renaud Muselier, for whom the former president was “like a father”, he explained on
RMC at the time of his death in 2019. The Euro Mediterranean project, where this establishment will be located, was launched under the first term of office of Jacques Chirac.