REPORTAGE. Sunshades, air mixers, cooling floors… how the “Marseille en grand” plan is taking shape in the city’s schools

Of the 5 billion euros invested in the Phocaean city, 1.5 billion is allocated to schools, in particular to enable them to better cope with extreme heat.

The “Marseille en grand” plan is taking shape. In 2021, Emmanuel Macron promises massive investments for France’s second city. 5 billion euros and ten years to transform the city that is lagging behind almost everywhere: transport, security, health, culture, social and education. In schools, there is urgency, so advanced is the state of disrepair of some establishments.

A colossal budget was put on the table: 1.5 billion euros. Today, three schools are finished. This is the culmination of three years of work and the schools of Marseille really needed it. “What you see there, the Algeco construction sites in Marseille, were the schools, describes Benoît Payan, the city’s mayor. There, it welcomed generations of children.”

In the 3rd arrondissement and next to these modular buildings, stands today the modern Marceau school, built in a mixture of wood and concrete. “School is the heart of the Republic, continues the mayor. It is at school that we learn to become citizens. And in Marseille, it was shameful. Who could believe that it was 40 degrees in the summer and that it was raining in the classrooms? Nobody believed us.”

And the change is radical. The latest establishments are now equipped with interactive whiteboards and solar panels. As for materials, the emphasis is on bio-sourced for low-carbon schools. But the main challenge remains heat. The architects have done everything possible to prevent classrooms from turning into ovens in the summer.

Géraldine Viellepeau took care of the Abeilles school in the 1st arrondissement. “A Mediterranean school in the city center means heat islands everywhere, she explains. We have set up several devices, obviously basic architectural devices, vertical and horizontal sunshades and screens. Then air mixers which are present in all the classrooms. And then we have also set up a heating-cooling floor, therefore reversible.

As for the surfaces in the playgrounds, black is out, light colours are in. There is even a green roof to keep the temperature in the classrooms pleasant, around 27 degrees when it is very hot outside. The children can breathe, and so can the parents.
“I was planning to change his school, says the mother of a studentbut he said to me: ‘Mom, it’s okay, I prefer to commute. The school is pretty, it’s beautiful, everything is new, it’s cool, so I’m staying.’

In Marseille, this school plan is just beginning: 17 brand new establishments will be delivered in 2024. The objective is 188 schools within ten years.