Is the “Marseille en grand” plan, launched with the promise of transforming the city’s dilapidated schools, getting bogged down in political quarrels and heavy bureaucracy? A debate, organized by the collective A Generation for Marseillesheds light on the obstacles of this colossal project.
In Marseille, we are used to big words, fiery declarations, tirelessly betrayed hopes. So when the “Marseille en grand” plan was launched with fanfare to save the schools, some said to themselves that this time, perhaps, things would finally change.
However, three years after the announcement of this ambitious project initiated by Emmanuel Macron to transform aging establishments, the results disappoint those who hoped for a renewal. And the damning report from the Regional Chamber of Accounts has only driven home the point.
The first evening of debates “How about we talk about it?”organized by the collective A Generation for Marseillelast Friday, was intended to be constructive, by tackling this very sensitive subject: the €1.5 billion Marseille schools plan.
And even before opening this sequence, the presence of one of the speakers caused discussion: Christophe Pierrel, former chief of staff of Michèle Rubirola and former deputy general director of the City of Marseille in charge of the Schools Plan.
The debate to find solutions
Pointing out where it hurts is not a luxury, because the objective of these new meetings is to open the debate and beyond, “to arrive through discussion, through listening, through dialogue, to find possible solutions,” launches Romain Simmarano, co-founder of the collective. It’s about being able to come out of these events with a few ideas in mind, which will make it possible to shape a real program for 2026.”
But not a program “on a purely electoral or political level,” specifies Renaud Muselier’s chief of staff. “A program in the noblest sense: solving problems, giving a perspective to the people of Marseille and the ability to envision the Marseille of tomorrow, in 2030, 2050.”
The collective even says it is ready for big shouting matches: “At any moment, we will come across people who will tell us the exact opposite of what we think. So much the better ! We are here to experience something new, without claiming to be revolutionary, but animated by this instinct of revolt.”
School, hostage to partisan quarrels
That evening, no clashes, no names of birds in the walls of the Epic, where the inscription “the right to dream and the power to do it” is engraved in full, as if to remind “that we must be able to dream big to imagine long-term perspectives,” argues Sandra Blanchard, co-founder of the collective and former campaign director of Sabrina Agresti-Roubache.
If the former Secretary of State in charge of this plan spoke by video from Paris, she did not fail to defend this ambition, recalling the different stages and the safeguarding of credits.
Despite this defense of the project from the capital, the voices from the field resonated differently. Among the speakers, Patricia De Jesus, director of the Montolivet school, and Lionel Royer-Perreaut, former deputy (Renaissance) and municipal councilor, bluntly exposed the dysfunctions of a system mired in political quarrels, where bureaucracy runs on empty and where the real players on the ground – teachers and school directors – do not have the right to review the decisions that concern them.
Christophe Pierrel, former chief of staff to Michèle Rubirola and former deputy general director of the City of Marseille in charge of the Schools Plan. © NK
For Christophe Pierrel, the objective of this evening was to remind us that “the school is neither right nor left” and that Marseille should see its schools as a common good, above partisan divisions. As a former deputy director general in charge of the Schools Plan, he paints a gloomy picture of the state of school buildings.
Failing roofs, dilapidated sanitary facilities, infiltrations: a reality inherited from the Gaudin era, which he denounces bluntly, in front of an audience of elected officials and right-wing sympathizers, with even, in the corner of the room, a few figures from the current municipality came to take the pulse of the opposition.
The initial list of 174 schools to be renovated was drawn up on “clear technical criteria”, to prioritize based on the condition of buildings and the needs of each neighborhood. But, slips Christophe Pierrel, “we went from 174 schools to 188”, (by 2032) is, according to him, a sign of a political shift where objectivity has dissolved in electoral adjustments.
He criticizes a drift which, according to him, weakens the initial ambition. “We had planned 174 renovated schools in ten years, but only 27% will be ready by the end of the current term. At this rate, it will take four mandates to finish the job. » the former DGA also recalls that some of the schools recently built find their origin in plans of the Gaudin mandate (Les Abeilles, Marceau, Jolie Manon, Capelette), pointing to an excessive politicization of the issue.
Broken management and territorial inequalities
Patricia De Jesus, director of the Montolivet school, describes the management difficulties she faces. His school, although included in the plan, seems to have been removed without explanation.
She describes a daily life where equipment fails, where fire alarms sound without intervention, and where requests for work go unanswered. “We no longer have referents for monitoring the work. Today, you have to go through software, and there is never a return. »
This observation extends to school supplies, with delivery delays such that teachers sometimes have to buy the materials themselves.
Lionel Royer-Perreaut criticizes territorial inequity in the prioritization of schools. “Benoît Payan is not the mayor of the entire city, he is the mayor of a part of Marseille, of the part that voted for him, he laments. Establishments in the 9th and 10th arrondissements, although in great difficulty, are not even a priority”says the former sector mayor.
For the elected official, this lack of equitable vision harms the entire project. “We have a governance problem. Marseille operates in silos, and that slows everything down. » He calls for a more inclusive approach so that each sector benefits from the same chances of renovation.
A public company… behind closed doors?
And that’s not all, because for his first public appearance since his defeat in the last legislative elections, the former parliamentarian had a lot to say. The Société Publique des Écoles Marseillaises (SPEM) – associating City and State – in order to structure the projects, “ is controlled » only by elected representatives of the majority, without any right of review for sector mayors or the opposition. “Where is the democracy in this matter? » castigates Royer-Perreaut.
He continues: “Do you think it is normal that, to carry out a public policy, we are obliged to create a public company? But it’s only in Marseille that we see that, excuse me. Firstly because we already have public companies in the territory which could be activated. »
A hope against the tide of pitfalls
The criticism is harsh, but it reflects the political puzzle of a city where the wheels are stuck and where maintaining optimism is almost a feat. However, faced with bureaucratic obstacles and partisan quarrels, some still call for hope, like Romain Simmarano. “Maintaining hope and not giving up is vital. This means shaking things up, perhaps admitting our failures, but above all limiting losses in the months to come. Whether we did things correctly or not, let us be bearers of hope,” he says, recalling a key figure: 5 billion euros, the total amount of the “Marseille en grand” plan.
And, coincidence or perfect political timing, Benoît Payan, the mayor of Marseille, is preparing to inaugurate a new school, Malpassé Les Oliviers (13th), this Saturday, November 16. This school group should have 11 nursery classes and 18 elementary classes, with an 800 m2 gymnasium open to the neighborhood, for a total cost of more than €16 billion.
One more school of course – the construction site of which was launched during the lightning mandate of Michèle Rubirola – symbol of an ambitious plan… but which, for many, is progressing at the speed of an endless construction site. But behind each ceremony, a question persists: how many schools will truly be ready to welcome students before the end of the term?
The collective does not intend to stop there. Its next meeting will be held on December 12. Another challenge, just as sensitive, will be addressed: security.
In a city where each project seems to be held back by realities much more complex than the promises, the collective hopes that this new discussion will go beyond observations of failure to consider concrete solutions. Because if Marseille can still dream of the future, it will first have to ensure that its streets and schools remain places where we feel at peace.
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