Marseille is a haven for artists and progressives. How could it be on the cusp of far-right rule? | Mary Fitzgerald

"For many in Marseille, the far right in France's second city will be for ever associated with the killing of Ibrahim Ali. In 1995, the teenager was leaving a rap band rehearsal with friends when they crossed paths with three National Front militants who were putting up posters in support of the Front's founder and then leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen. Ibrahim was shot in the back as he ran to catch his bus."

"The prospect of a far-right mayor has gripped Marseillais since late last year. Whenever the local football team Olympique de Marseille have played a home game in recent months, fans have made their opposition to the far right clear in chants and banners. The question of how the far right has grown so powerful in one of France's most diverse cities, a sun-bleached place shaped by centuries of immigration and a proud working-class identity, also says something about its rise across the country."

"Here, as in other parts of France, the far-right candidate has a background in the mainstream right, blurring the lines between the two. Here, too, the far right has expanded into what were once leftwing constituencies. Here, too, the local left is bitterly divided, with the candidate from the radical La France Insoumise party attacking Payan more than he skewers the far right."

Marseille faces a pivotal municipal election on March 15, with the far-right National Rally (RN) candidate Franck Allisio tied in first place with incumbent socialist mayor Benoit Payan. Nearly one-third of the city's 880,000 residents plan to vote for the RN, a 10-point increase from 2020. This potential victory would represent the far right's first seizure of a major French metropolis. The RN's rise in Marseille reflects broader national trends: the party has expanded into traditionally left-wing areas, its candidate has mainstream-right roots blurring ideological lines, and the local left is fractured with internal conflicts. The prospect has mobilized opposition, including from football fans. The city's history, marked by immigration and working-class identity, contrasts sharply with the far right's growing support.

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