Paris (AFP)

Emmanuel Macron is expected Wednesday afternoon in Marseille to present an ambitious plan intended to breathe new life into France's second city, which he says he wants to make a "capital of the Mediterranean".

Started after the Council of Ministers, this two-and-a-half-day trip is the longest devoted to the Head of State in a single city since the start of his five-year term.

It is justified by the "singular" place, according to the Elysee Palace, occupied by the Marseille city in France but also "the urgency" of its situation, illustrated in particular by the upsurge in bloody settling of scores this summer.

"It is a city in a bloodless financial situation, which is not up to what it should be. It has been missing its appointments for a long time", regrets its socialist mayor Benoît Payan, 43 years old. , interviewed by AFP.

The city of Rosiers in Marseille on August 31, 2021 Nicolas TUCAT AFP

However, he does not ask that Emmanuel Macron "give alms" during his visit, the highlight of which will be the presentation of the "Marseille en grand" plan Thursday afternoon at the Pharo Palace.

Anxious to respect local sensitivities, the Elysee ensures that "this plan was co-constructed in close collaboration with various actors, in particular local elected officials" and that it is not just "Paris manages Marseille".

Accompanied by seven ministers, the Head of State is expected to announce the release of significant financial resources in three sectors in which Marseille is seriously behind schedule: schools, transport and urban renewal.

Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on August 31, 2021 Ludovic MARIN AFP

He will detail them in particular by attending Thursday morning at the start of the school year in a school in the "northern districts", the most popular.

The municipality has launched a vast plan to renovate more than 200 of the city's 472 schools for an amount of 1.2 billion euros, part of which will be covered by the state.

- "Awakening of conscience" -

Mr. Macron should also make announcements to fill the glaring deficit of public transport in Marseille, which has only two metro lines for 900,000 inhabitants in the city and nearly 1.6 million in the metropolitan area.

Investments are also expected in the rehabilitation of substandard housing nearly three years after the death of eight people in the collapse of a building in rue d'Aubagne.

The Head of State will not be able to escape the hot debate on insecurity and drug trafficking which plagues some cities.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has promised 300 additional police officers by 2023, in addition to two CRS companies (120 personnel) now permanently based in the city, but Benoît Payan estimates that 800 national police officers are missing.

Police at a crime scene in Marseille on April 5, 2018 boris HORVAT AFP / Archives

"When will there be an awakening of consciences?", Launched the Archbishop of Marseille, Mgr Jean-Marc Aveline, on the eve of the visit.

"Before our eyes, murderous and unscrupulous mafias transform the youth of poor neighborhoods into cannon fodder for trafficking of all kinds, weapons, drugs, prostitution, etc.", he accused.

During this trip, "Emmanuel Macron will shave a little free: he will announce figures and we do not know if the sums will be there. It is the electoral period (...) he spends, he waters" and "we see the level of the debt "which" has never been so high ", denounced Tuesday the deputy LR Eric Ciotti on FranceInfo.

For their part, local elected officials are waiting, recalling that in 2012 Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault had already presented a comprehensive action plan intended to "get Marseille out of its difficulties".

After a dinner on Thursday with the head of the Italian government Mario Draghi, an ally in Europe, Emmanuel Macron will dedicate Friday to the environment with a sea trip in the Calanques National Park and the opening of the World Congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which is held in Marseille until September 11.

This trip to Marseille should dominate the political news of the end of the week, which will give the opportunity to the executive to show that it is "in action" while the opposition parties are focused on the launch of the campaign for the April 2022 presidential election.

Emmanuel Macron intends to continue to occupy the field throughout the month of September, in particular on the issues of recovery, security and youth.

© 2021 AFP