Never had he stayed so long since the start of his five-year term in one and the same city in France. As of this Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron arrives in Marseille with behind him a procession provided by eight ministers and secretaries of state, and in his wallet, a large-scale plan for the second city of France. A city for which the Head of State, also an open supporter of OM, regularly proclaims his attachment since his election in 2017. “The president has a very special relationship with the Marseille city, an affection, an attachment” , we confirm at the Elysee.
However, there is no question of suggesting that the President of the Republic improvises himself mayor of Marseille for a fixed period. “It may seem strange to you, but the Head of State told me nothing”, proclaimed this Tuesday morning Benoît Payan, at the microphone of RMC, while Jean-Jacques Bourdin asked him about the announcements to come. “The objective pursued is not to say that Paris comes to manage Marseille”, warns the Elysee. If Emmanuel Macron is concentrating his efforts in Marseille, it is, according to the Palace, because the second largest city in France “has a number of sociological and economic difficulties”. A situation that the Elysee attributes, in harsh terms, “to local communities, which are a bit, and it is not an insult to say it, in a form of neglect or local inability to meet the challenges . “
An “ad hoc structure” to renovate schools
Among the key axes of this plan is the question of the renovation of schools in Marseille, at the heart of controversy for many years. On the occasion of the start of the school year this Thursday, the Head of State will visit a school in the 13th arrondissement of Marseille, in the northern districts of the city. “The President of the Republic will meet in this school the actors of a consultation organized by the municipality last April, the municipal elected officials but also the teaching teams, the parents of pupils, the pupils and the municipal staff to be able to hear their aspirations. as for school buildings ”, specifies the entourage of the Head of State.
In Marseille, the new left-wing majority has indeed made the renovation of schools a priority. A renovation plan for nearly 300 schools estimated at 1.2 billion euros for a period of five years is thus in preparation, in consultation with the Elysee, and Emmanuel Macron should announce during his visit the amount the financial participation of the State in this project. In addition, to manage these projects, “the largest land renovation operation in the country”, to use the words of Benoît Payan, the Elysée is considering the creation of an “ad hoc structure” to “allow the most operational management. , as concrete and as controlled as possible in the sense of the credits that will be provided by the State. “The idea is not that the ministries pilot”, affirms the entourage of the President of the Republic, but to lead to a “partnership work” with the town hall of Marseilles, which has the competence in the matter.
Security announcements
The creation of a similar structure to boost transport in the metropolis would also be considered, as already exists in Paris with the company of Grand Paris. What projects will be developed as a priority, in a city that has only two metro lines concentrated in a few districts in the center and south of the city? How to manage this funding? On this point, the Elysee remains elusive, and simply evokes a “working lunch with elected officials of the metropolis and the chamber of commerce and industry to discuss the nature of the needs”, scheduled this Thursday.
The president also knows he is expected on the issue of security in Marseille, at a time when the Marseille city is experiencing a worrying explosion of settling of scores. A sequence “dedicated to safety” on this theme therefore slipped into his agenda upon his arrival on Wednesday afternoon. According to our information, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, who had already announced in a previous trip a police reinforcement of 300 agents over three years, as well as the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti, passing through Marseille last week , will also visit Marseille again this week alongside the Head of State. “We will have announcements made by the president in terms of real estate, equipment for the police and in terms of staff,” we promise on the side of the Elysee.
The opportunity also for the Head of State to recall the record of the government in this matter, while, on the ground, the inhabitants of the northern districts feel totally neglected. “In Marseille, we have had 807 operations to dismantle points of sale since 2021, which has generated 1210 police custody and 177 people imprisoned”, we hammer in the entourage of the President of the Republic. On the eve of the arrival of the Head of State, associations and bereaved families have decided to organize a white march, this Tuesday evening, on the Old Port, in tribute to the victims of the settling of scores.