Marseille wants to become the capital

The Good Mother, the little pastis, the Old Port, the bouillabaisse … So many images of Épinal that help to describe Marseille. However, the Phocaean city is worth more than that and it intends to assert its dynamism, far from the dusty ideas that usually describe it. She is a dynamic economic land and she strives to demonstrate it. How? ‘Or’ What ? Already by the numbers.

Since the start of the health crisis, it is no longer a surprise, Parisians have deserted the capital for cities in the provinces, betting on the green or the sea. And their attraction for Marseille is growing, according to a study carried out by the online movers booking platform Nextories, last December. More than 9% of Parisians move to the Bouches-du-Rhône department, which makes it the first departure destination outside Île-de-France. For the year 2020, follow the Gironde and the Lyon region for 7.8 and 7% respectively. In 2019, they were 10.5% from Bordeaux, 9.2% to Lyon and only 8.6% to Marseille. In other words, the game of cities is redistributed.

Assets

So, in Marseille, what are the working people looking for, especially entrepreneurs? ” There is a subject that is gaining in importance: that of quality of life. Today, the main concern is no longer the job or the career “, promises Jean-Luc Chauvin, president of the Aix-Marseille-Provence CCI. An attractiveness confirmed by Jean-Baptiste Maillant, the founder of Wing.

The start-up specializes in last mile logistics. Created in 2015, it has been incubated for two years at ZeBox, the start-up studio of the group specializing in maritime transport CMA-CGM. With the crisis, the activity of the start-up exploded to such an extent that the founder relocated his headquarters to Marseille, closer to the incubator. How to convince the 50 employees to join the city of the South? For the young leader, the prospect of a qualitative living environment was decisive. ” It has become the number 1 criterion, Paris no longer being the center of decisions, he says. The problem is the spouse who cannot find a job. This is why it is imperative that Marseille develop more industries … ”

A pitfall which, according to the region, is only temporary, other assets to be mentioned. ” Of course, we are living in an unprecedented crisis, but we continue to be combative to envisage the aftermath., assures Martine Vassal, president of the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis and president of the Bouches-du-Rhône department. Marseille remains a strategic destination for the potential of land, the youth sector and the geopolitical position by the sea and between Europe and Africa. “And to advance the figure of 65 business investments received in 2020, for a total of 1,350 direct jobs, almost half of these projects come from abroad. ” These figures are slightly down compared to 2019, agrees Martine Vassal. But they still prove the attractiveness of our territory despite the Covid crisis. “In 2019, in fact, 80 establishments and 1,935 jobs had been recorded.

A phenomenon closely followed by Provence Promotion, a support agency for companies wishing to set up in the region. Its managing director Philippe Stéfanini identifies three entrepreneur profiles. ” We mainly see companies that want to create an additional establishment, but also new entrepreneurs or buyers of local activity., he lists. The latter, due to the crisis, are more and more numerous. ”

So, far from being discouraged (in 2020, the decline in economic activity in the Bouches-du-Rhône is estimated at 18 billion euros in turnover by the Chamber of Commerce), the defenders of the Marseille territory report their sleeves and bet on the resilience. For some, it is even already recorded and is justified by the plurality of economic sectors : logistics, maritime, health, aeronautics, to name a few. ” Where cities like Toulouse have chosen to specialize, we have chosen to diversify “, comments Martine Vassal.

Hyperconnectivité

Moreover, Marseille can claim the status of ninth largest metropolis in the world in terms of connectivity. It was thus recognized by Telegeography, a telecommunications research organization, which places it just after New York and ahead of Hong Kong. In all, 14 submarine cables Six internet exchange points and 14 hosted content distribution platforms and networks land there for 160 international and national telecommunications operators.

Long ignored, this “hyperconnectivity” is more and more talked about. ” In less than a year, we will be the fifth largest metropolis in the world, projects Jean-Luc Chauvin. In a context of accelerating digitization, this is obviously a plus. Industries will benefit from immediate and more efficient access. “Among the advantages, in fact, the presence of cables promotesimplantation de data centers, but does not spontaneously ensure the economic development of the territory. Under certain conditions, it can create a virtuous ecosystem and job creator by attracting digital or related activities (R&D, financial services and international trade, etc.). It remains that the mobilization of public actors to support the creation of a local ecosystem where data centers, digital companies and hyperconnected companies will work together.