The centre cannot hold

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The far-left pulse of France lives in one city: Marseille. Many of Marseille’s poor are angry over decaying housing and poor transport links to crime-ridden estates. There is resentment over the city’s multi-billion-pound showcase developments such as the recently renovated football stadium, new shopping malls and the Mucem museum opened four years ago.

Nevertheless, many areas are expected to vote for Mr Macron’s candidates to give the president the majority for change he seeks.

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French patronage

Philippe Pujol, an award-winning journalist, said Marseille’s deeply ingrained corruption and practices of political patronage will be a tough challenge for the president’s MPs.

“Once they’re in office, people will come asking for favours, jobs for family members at a local hospital, contracts, or special privileges for unions, and they’ll have to say no because they don’t function in the Marseille system of patronage and clientelism. That will create anger, which could translate into votes either for the far-Right or the far-Left at the next election."

Mr Pujol, 41, often described as the city’s David Simon [the American reporter whose book about Baltimore’s seamy underbelly was adapted for TV as the series “The Wire”], said the drug gangs based in Marseille’s northern districts have long-established political connections.

“Influence-peddling is another Marseille tradition that Macron’s people will have to face,” he said.

Seedy underbelly

A nexus of organised crime and local politicians came to dominate Marseille in the postwar years as the industrial port declined.

Today, heavily-armed gangs dealing cannabis and cocaine control many of Marseille’s northern estates.

As you drive into Marseille, you are welcomed by a Hollywood-style MARSEILLE sign on a hillside, a gift from Netflix to celebrate a recent series about the city starring Gérard Depardieu.

Locals laugh about the sign, but many appear proud of what has become a symbol of the raucous, dangerous city they love for its beauty and character.

As Macron dismantles the 3,000-page “labour code” in an attempt to give businesses greater freedom to adapt and expand, French workers will need constant reminders that the aim is not to deprive them of their rights but to create more jobs.

Few parts of France are likely to be more awkward than Marseille, with its reputation as the country’s "outsider" city.

@mindhunter

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