Emmanuel Macron will make a three-day visit to the Marseille city, from June 26 to 28, to mark a new stage in his “Marseille in a big way” plan, the Elysee Palace told AFP on Saturday.
With this plan, launched in September 2021, the Head of State had undertaken to support the second city of France, and also one of the poorest, in several areas, such as the renovation of schools or transport.
“We confirm the president’s visit to Marseille on June 26, 27 and 28 to launch Marseille’s act 2 on a grand scale,” the Elysée Palace said on Saturday, adding that Emmanuel Macron “promised the people of Marseilles that he would return there. long before the end of the first semester”.
“It’s another big visit, you have to measure the format, it’s unheard of for a head of state to do this, and to do it again”, rejoiced the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan (various left), in an interview with the regional daily La Provence published on Saturday.
“I’m waiting for us to amplify what we started,” said Mr. Payan, referring to “extremely important topics such as the governance of the port, which is a state within a state”.
At the end of 2022, Emmanuel Macron had indicated that he wanted to push the fires on the realization of a “Grand Port which goes from Marseille to Lyon”, in particular for the transport of goods and energy. Marseille is currently one of the largest ports in France, even if it remains far from the level of the ports of Antwerp (Belgium) or Rotterdam (Netherlands).
“There is also the question of the AP-HM (hospitals of Marseille, editor’s note). There is no reason for it to be less well endowed than the others”, also believes Mr. Payan.
Since the President of the Republic’s previous visit to France’s second city, several projects have been launched following the announcement of the “Marseille en grand” plan.
The school renovation plan, one of the priorities of the left-wing municipality since its accession to power in 2020, has made “clear and marked” progress, welcomed Benoît Payan at the start of the year. The mayor then mentioned in particular three new schools expected for 2023 and the launch of twelve projects, thanks to the public company of Marseille schools, a unique structure in France with a 50/50 State/city partnership to create schools.
On the transport side, 15 projects have been launched, such as the extension of a South-North tramway, the first phase of which is expected at the end of 2024, or a ring road bus which will connect two metro terminals in the north of the city, which concentrates the most impoverished and neglected neighborhoods. Marseille, a city with a larger surface area than Paris, for example, currently only has two metro lines.
The president could also be expected on the subject of housing, again one of the priorities of the left-wing municipality elected 18 months after the fatal collapse of two dilapidated buildings in the heart of the city, in November 2018 rue d’Aubagne, but which was recently singled out by the prefecture for failing to achieve its social housing construction targets.
06/17/2023 13:26:54 – Paris (AFP) – © 2023 AFP