2023-06-28 11:30:22
France’s second city is also one of the most unequal in the country. Long neglected by the State, Marseille is above all a victim of the appalling immobility of the Jean-Claude Gaudin years, mayor whose reign of a quarter of a century only ended in 2020.
The collapse of buildings, the shocking dilapidation of its schools, the persistent isolation of its northern, popular neighborhoods, forgotten by public transport, the ravages of drug trafficking and the settling of accounts, which have claimed twenty-three lives since the beginning of the year, are all marks of a multifaceted scandal that must end as soon as possible.
The new “raid” on Marseille by the President of the Republic, materialized by his three-day visit to the Marseille capital, two years after the launch of the “Marseille en grand” operation, concentrates all the limits of the Macron method: personalization excessively, shelling of political communication, great speeches and little polemical phrase on the ease of finding a job by doing “ the tour of the Old Port ».
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It is however clear that, where previous governments have multiplied promises without a future or follow-up, presidential voluntarism generates a “ extraordinary effort “, in the words of Benoît Payan, the mayor (various left) of the city. Fifteen billion in public money, five of which emanating directly from the State, have been paid to transform schools, open up neighborhoods, renovate housing and combat insecurity. Additional funding was pledged during the visit.
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The magnitude of the task is such that the methods must be as innovative as the funding is exceptional. Thus, the idea of offering schools greater autonomy to develop projects adapted to local needs appears to be a means of mobilizing teams and fighting against inequalities. While the scourge of drug trafficking plagues the city and despairs the inhabitants, the dismantling of the points of sale is urgent.
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But, faced with the incessant adaptation of the deal, the international integration of the phenomenon and the multiplication of uses, the presidential call for “accountability” and its announcement on the immediate verbalization of consumers cannot hide the dramatic deadlock in the debate on the decriminalization of cannabis, of which the French are the biggest consumers in Europe despite some of the most repressive laws.
Gap to fill
The President of the Republic’s obsession with bringing light to himself also raises the question of local relays. Admittedly, the political conflicts between the Marseilles municipality, the metropolis, the department and the region have not ceased to hinder the action of the public authorities and to feed irresponsibility. But Marseille will not recover without the resolute and joint commitment of local elected officials, civil society organizations and economic circles.
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The anger of the inhabitants which was expressed during the presidential visit reflects the gap which remains to be bridged between the restorative action of the State in the medium term and the visible concrete results demanded immediately. The success or failure of the Marseille political laboratory, symbol of openness to the Mediterranean and melting pot of dynamism linked to French diversity, will be measured first of all by its ability to reduce the chasm between ambitious political speeches and the realities at the bottom of buildings. A national issue.
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