With two weeks to go before parliamentary elections, far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon continues his campaign and dreams of becoming prime minister. In the recent presidential race, Mélenchon scored over 70 percent of the youth vote in the disadvantaged northern suburbs of Marseille.
Since 2017, Jean-Luc Mélenchon has been MP for the 4th district of the Bouches-du-Rhône, which includes the main districts of downtown Marseille. He has decided not to run again in next month's legislative elections.
In the southern city's troubled areas, the so-called "Quartiers Nord", the France Unbowed (LFI) candidate got an average of 43 percent of the vote in the presidential elections last April (51.48 percent in the 15th district). More than 70 percent of young people in Marseille's disadvantaged northern suburbs voted for him.
"He knows how to talk to young people. He wants to set up a system to help the young. When you're under-25, you're not entitled to the RSA [minimum income for people with no resources], so he wants to create a system that supports young people, which is a minimum to be able to live, look for a job or get training," Salim Grabsi, member of the Quartiers Nord Quartiers Forts action group, told RFI.
In the Quartiers Nord, the unemployment rate for people under 25 reaches 60 percent.
'A politician who understands'
The northern neighbourhoods are located in four districts of Marseille: the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th, about ten kilometres north of the Vieux Port (Old Port). These districts represent a third of the city's surface area and are home to 29 percent of its population, or 250,000 people.
According to Grabsi, another factor that motivated the young to vote for Mélenchon was that, for the first time, they had the impression of having a politician "who understands them and especially who does not use the religious context - Islam, Muslims - to win votes.
"If I have to remember anything, it's that he was able to breathe hope into territories that have been shattered, that haven't seen the light for a very long time."
Grabsi knows the Quartiers Nord well. He works in a high school there and is involved in several organisations that help young people.
Give the young a chance
"What we need is to do everything possible to ensure that our young people can succeed. This means opening up the field of possibilities and above all fighting against social determinism.
"And for that, we need the State, the local authorities, the city of Marseille, the county, the region, to sit around the table and co-construct innovative answers with us.
"It is absolutely necessary that the inhabitants and young people are the driving force."
In the Quartiers Nord, dozens of small, unsubsidised groups work seven days a week. "These organisations serve as a social airbag, and ensure that the quartiers do not explode or fall apart."
In September last year, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of an "urgent need to accelerate" the transformation of Marseille as he rolled out a multi-billion-euro plan called "Marseille en grand", to tackle a "social, health and security emergency".
"It's frustrating, we're eager to see the results of the president's announcements, to see the State and local authorities come to the depths of these areas and connect with these organisations that do remarkable work," explains Grabsi.
As for the upcoming legislative elections in Marseille, Grabsi simply says "may the best person win".
