Crime and Security Dominate Marseille Election Campaign

Security has taken center stage in the Marseille mayoral race, with far-right National Rally candidate Franck Allisio shaking things up just days before Sunday’s first round of voting.

Allisio’s campaign videos—set to dramatic tunes—promise radical steps to curb crime in this bustling Mediterranean port. He vows to triple municipal police numbers, double surveillance cameras, and plant a police station in every district. This approach clearly resonates for supporters like Marie-Hélène Martin, a schoolteacher who’s convinced family members previously on the fence to back the National Rally.

Judging by recent polls, the race could be neck and neck. Allisio currently stands tied with incumbent Socialist mayor Benoît Payan, giving the National Rally a shot at controlling France’s second-largest city—something that once seemed out of reach.

Marseille itself, long famed for its historic port and vibrant Mediterranean vibe, has become a hotspot amid France’s battle with rising cocaine use, as highlighted in a 2024 Senate report. Security concerns now top voters’ agendas ahead of the two-round municipal elections on March 15 and 22.

The surge behind Allisio mirrors broader national currents. Pollsters indicate the anti-immigration party, previously dogged by racism and antisemitism allegations, could play a major role in the 2027 presidential race. Local races are seen as stepping stones in this grand strategy. “We need to win the municipal elections, and then our goal is the presidential,” Martin remarked.

Ultimately, Marseille’s outcome might hinge on whether left-leaning parties rally around a single candidate in round two. A March Ifop poll showed that unified left support for Payan could net him a ten-point lead over Allisio. But fragment the field, and things get much tighter.

Though mayors in France wield limited sway over public security, both frontrunners have zeroed in on crime. Municipal governments manage local police, yet their units possess fewer resources and powers than national police forces.

Allisio claims Marseille faces a drug trafficking crisis. “We are witnessing an explosion in drug trafficking, and in the face of this, for years nothing has been done,” he asserted.

Payan pushes back, pointing out the city has already beefed up its municipal police. He also accuses the far right of exploiting fears rather than offering workable solutions.

Official stats reveal Marseille’s overall crime dipped 4.1 percent last year compared to 2024. Police data also suggest drug-related killings have dropped since peaking in 2023. Still, high-profile murders linked to drug trade have rattled locals.

Sociologist Claire Duport from the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addictive Trends explains that residents’ unease is understandable, even if long-term violence trends aren’t soaring. She observes that drug-related homicides increasingly involve indiscriminate attacks rather than targeted vengeance.

In response, Payan has brought aboard anti-drug activist Amine Kessaci to bolster his campaign. Kessaci, just 22 and having lost two brothers to drug violence, believes tackling crime requires wider social policies.

He argues Marseille needs to attack drug trafficking through better healthcare, education, transportation, and housing.

In neighborhoods like La Busserine, north Marseille, which have felt the brunt of drug violence, some residents voice discomfort with the campaign’s heavy focus on security.

Fadella Ouidef, a volunteer at a local social center, says the far right keeps steering the political discussion toward crime. “The far right is always the one setting the terms of the debate,” she said, worried it stigmatizes Arab and Black communities.

Despite these concerns, open drug dealing remains visible. Near a big housing complex called “Le Mail,” young dealers still hawk drugs to passersby.

For folks like Ouidef, the problem is complex. Drug use should be treated as a public health issue, and she fears slashing social support will only worsen conditions in already vulnerable neighborhoods.

“If the National Rally comes to power, it will be disastrous,” she warned, fearing cuts to social services could deepen hardship instead of boosting security.

With voting just around the corner, Marseille’s mayoral race has turned into a high-stakes test of how much weight security concerns carry among voters in one of France’s most diverse and politically charged cities.