Municipal elections 2026: in Marseille, the left defends its document and “real life” | EUROtoday

Construction helmet on his head, Pierre-Marie Ganozzi, assistant accountable for the renovation of Marseille colleges, walks by means of the rubble of the Abeilles faculty web site, within the hypercenter of the Marseille metropolis. In a number of months, all that can stay of the constructing would be the exterior facades. Inside, every part will probably be redesigned utilizing an already well-established methodology. Comfort, areas tailored to actions, demanding environmental requirements and even an elevator.

The former instructor, who fought laborious in opposition to the inaction of the earlier municipal staff, is happy with his document: of the 188 public colleges within the metropolis recognized as notably dilapidated, 27 have been utterly renovated, 12 are below development and 70 different renovation contracts are in progress.

According to the municipality, 450 million euros have been invested within the renovation and operation of the town’s colleges in six years, with state help. A “pharaonic” venture, unprecedented in France in line with Pierre-Marie Ganozzi.

“We are spending considerable sums and we are taking responsibility for it. This is what we promised and this is what we are doing. Schools, children, this is the future of Marseille, whether we are from the North or the South, rich or poor. This is what we want to achieve and show people: paying taxes is useful for something.”

This “school plan” introduced collectively socialists, communists, Greens and rebels, in addition to the citizen collective Mad Mars, throughout the Marseille Spring marketing campaign in 2020. Six years later, this flagship venture grew to become his showcase for his re-election.

In some colleges, “it rained because the roof was not waterproof. The toilets were regularly blocked and not repaired. The windows no longer closed”, notably within the northern districts of the town, working-class and remoted. “We wanted to stitch the city together, to ensure that there was republican equality throughout Marseille,” continues the deputy.

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A stone’s throw from the development web site, Pierre-Marie Ganozzi proudly reveals the Baya main faculty, named after an Algerian painter, utterly renovated a 12 months and a half in the past. “During this electoral campaign, I met lots of people and people came to thank me. Which means that, for the school plan, we hit the nail on the head.”

“We really pulled out all the stops for urban renewal and for schools in working-class neighborhoods,” he provides. “I hope that working-class neighborhoods will say: ‘We want this to continue.’ Because certainly, if tomorrow it was the National Rally which won the city, all these credits would be eliminated.”

Rehabilitate in style neighborhoods within the metropolis heart

A little bit additional away, within the Noailles district, Printemps Marseille additionally ardently defends its document. A stone’s throw from La Canebière and the Old Port, this interlacing of streets of Old Marseille was recognized for the unsanitary housing operated by slumlords with out the municipal companies, being alerted, taking any discover.

But in 2018, the collapse of two dilapidated buildings on rue d’Aubagne, within the coronary heart of the district, left eight individuals useless and shook native political life. Indeed, a social landlord, Marseille Habitat, and kinfolk of the mayor Les Républicains (LR) on the time are implicated.

The battle in opposition to substandard housing, led by associations and the victims’ households, grew to become a typical of the Marseille Spring throughout its 2020 marketing campaign. “When we were elected, we were emerging from a humanitarian crisis. Thousands of people had been evacuated, everything was closed,” says Sophie Camard, elected mayor of the sector.

“We worked to remove the dangers, to carry out work which would not allow people to return, but to prevent other buildings from collapsing,” she explains. “And then a local public development company of national interest was created dedicated to the fight against substandard housing. We defended the case with Anru, the National Agency for Urban Renewal, and we obtained 100 million euros over ten years. This not only makes it possible to keep the buildings, to maintain social diversity and not to gentrify at random, which is always a fear in a working-class neighborhood.”

Walking down Rue d’Aubagne, the mayor of the world outlines her venture for the following time period: creation of a social heart and a main faculty – the neighborhood doesn’t have one. She regrets that throughout the marketing campaign, the National Rally (RN) imposed the theme of safety to the detriment of all others.

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“We have invested in the municipal police, in mediators, and we have results,” says Sophie Camard. “We end the mandate with a drop in delinquency statistics. The rehabilitation of Noailles mobilized all our energies. Our adversaries cannot tell us that it is not true, because that is real life.”

Substitute for Jean-Luc Mélenchon throughout his election in Marseille in 2017, Sophie Camard appears considerably distraught by a marketing campaign the place native points take second place.

“I am furious that we are deprived of a municipal debate in Marseille. We find ourselves taken hostage by national considerations, with the RN which wants to make Marseille its prize of war. And Mélenchon who comes to settle scores here.”

Credited with 30 to 35% of voting intentions within the first spherical, Printemps Marseille is neck and neck with the RN within the polls. Two different lists may stay within the second spherical: that of the rebellious Sébastien Delogu and that of Martine Vassal, supported by LR and Renaissance.