Marseille: Algeria becomes an electoral issue and is now part of local political life
They are often said to be twins, and even the two Virgins of Our Lady of Africa and Our Lady of the Guard are said to be looking at each other across the Mediterranean. Algiers and Marseille seem more than linked by history and demographics, to the point that Algeria is now part of local political life, especially in view of the 2026 municipal elections.
And this is likely to be confirmed by the recent visit to Algeria by LFI MP Sébastien Delogu. The buzz surrounding this trip and the statements made by the elected representative for the 7th constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône speaks volumes about the growing importance of Franco-Algerian relations in the local political debate in Marseille. A city with a large community of Algerian origin, the largest community in the Phocaean city.
" The Marseille left and the far left represented by LFI seem to be driven by different approaches to strengthening their roots and influence among the Franco-Algerian electorate ," analyzes a keen observer of local political life. Delogu's highly publicized trip is part of a logic of political visibility, while Laurent Lhardit, Marseille MP and president of the France-Algeria friendship group in the National Assembly, embodies a more institutional approach. "
Laurent Lhardit, a Socialist Party (PS) MP, led around thirty elected representatives from the left, far left and centre, visiting Algeria on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the massacres of 8 May 1945 in eastern Algeria, in a context of crisis between Algiers and Paris, with, in particular, the expulsion of French diplomatic agents reporting to the Ministry of the Interior. […]
" Both Lhardit and Delogu, each in their own very different way, are seeking to build a bond of trust with the electorate of Algerian origin, by positioning themselves on memorial and diplomatic issues ," the elected official continues. […]
In May, Senator Valérie Boyer (LR) referred the matter to the Minister of the Interior (to whom she is close) regarding what she described as "community abuses" within the Marseille municipal police, citing an "investigation" by Valeurs actuelles on the subject, which renamed this security force "DZ PM" (in reference to the DZ mafia). The municipal police filed a complaint against the magazine.
Fdesouche
