00:00This is Marseille's old port. It embodies some of the biggest issues at the national level.
00:06Security, immigration and a rising cost of living.
00:10With 900,000 inhabitants, this Mediterranean metropolis has become the most ambitious target of the far-right.
00:18Some of the poorest neighborhoods of Marseille often make headlines with gong shootings prompted by drug trafficking.
00:24The security issue has boosted the far-right candidate in the polls.
00:29He's now neck and neck with incumbent socialist mayor Benoît Payan,
00:33while the centre-right and far-left candidates remain in ambush.
00:37For the past five years, French President Macron has also made Marseille a national priority,
00:43promising as much as 5 billion euros to improve schools, housing and, of course, security.
00:48Yet, according to economists, a lot of it has not been spent yet and more needs to be done to
00:55fight drug trafficking.
00:57Away from the postcard, Marseille remains one of France's poorest cities with huge social needs despite Macron's investment plan.
01:05This local election is a key test ahead of next year's presidential race.
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