Marseille (AFP)
"We will have to go and get money to rebuild the schools," left mayor Michèle Rubirola, just elected in Marseille, said on Monday in La Provence, where the question of the poor condition of schools has undermined the previous term.
The new mayor wants to "quickly start the necessary work". Ms. Rubirola reiterated, in an interview with the regional daily, her desire to "prepare for the start of the school year", "which is a great challenge when we know the problems at this level in Marseille".
Prefabricated overheated in summer, freezing in winter, unsanitary toilets, invasions of rats: the file of Marseille schools continued Jean-Claude Gaudin, mayor LR for 25 years, until the end of his mandate.
Le Printemps marseillais, a left-wing coalition led by Michèle Rubirola, has made this its priority. The mayor also cites among his first projects the issue of housing, which has become explosive in Marseille after the deadly collapse, at the end of 2018, of two buildings in the city center, rue d'Aubagne.
"Inequality is a time bomb. We must break away from structural poverty," said Rubirola. It particularly targets young people for whom "life can be difficult in certain neighborhoods where there are no cultural or festive places", promising to "take them into account" in the future.
In the immediate future, the new mayor has committed to work "for the summer of the little Marseillais". "After this Covid-19 crisis, many people will not be able to go on vacation," she said. The new municipality wants to extend the opening hours "evening and night", public transport and parks and gardens. In the second city of France, the parks close before 9 p.m.
Almost a novice in politics, Michèle Rubirola, a doctor by profession, also recalled her desire to work with "a lot of cooperation".
© 2020 AFP