Marseille, political laboratory of Emmanuel Macron since 2017

Emmanuel Macron has often traveled to Marseille since his election in 2017, and always with a very specific purpose. “His only meeting between the two rounds of the last presidential election was in Marseille. In 2018, he received German Chancellor Angela Merkel there in view of the 2019 European elections. […]. And then, more recently, [il y a eu] his visit last September to launch his ‘Marseille in a big way'”, explains journalist Serge Cimino.

These visits have a political meaning and are explained by the president’s desire to make Marseille a laboratory, in particular to experiment with his projects for the school. His good understanding with the socialist mayor, Benoît Payan, is also one of the causes of these regular trips. Marseille is also the stronghold of the leader of the Insoumis, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who obtained 31% of the votes there in the first round of the presidential election, against 22% for Emmanuel Macron.