Overview

• Appearing on BFM’s Marseille Politiques on October 16, Mayor Benoît Payan said it is too early to announce a candidacy and emphasized focusing on governing tasks such as opening schools and cultural centers.
• He criticized rivals for campaigning while holding other offices, implicitly targeting RN deputy Franck Allisio and Aix-Marseille Métropole president Martine Vassal.
• Positioning the far right as his principal adversary, Payan denounced those he described as its allies and invoked the line that he knows who the heirs of Vichy are.
• He expressed regret that La France insoumise is opposing him as the local campaign landscape takes shape.
• Vassal formally launched her center-right challenge on September 13, and the contest has increasingly focused on public safety and cleanliness in Marseille.