Nothing is going well anymore. In these times of judicial scarcity, rumor is not necessarily the best ally of projects, all imaginations combined. Reduction of public deficits requires, what will become of the project of a new judicial city for Marseille, as desired by the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron on the Euroméditerranée site? 44 000 m2 over 40 floors in the Arenc sector: the project prevents people from sleeping 2,500 lawyers at the Marseille bar who fear only one thing, that the city center will suddenly be devitalized. The former Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti tried to reassure them by maintaining that he saw« the most optimal scenario » and ensuring that he “ would not let the city center of Marseille become devitalized “. Promises, promises? This “ optimal scenario » is it still relevant?
« I know there is some resistance, but the magistrates care about this judicial city. Commitments have been made and there is no going back planned for the moment », declared the new Minister of Justice Didier Migaud to the newspaper La Provence, during his visit to Marseille on November 8. For the new minister, there is therefore no question of drawing a line under this refounding project.
“Bringing together the courts” in the new judicial city of Marseille
For the president of the Marseille judicial court, Olivier Leurent, interviewed by Nouvelles Publications, it cannot be otherwise either. “ At this stage, there is no no questioning of the project. There is a real need to regroup the courts, and above all to have better adapted, better connected courtrooms, to find working conditions that are more respectful of justice personnel. »
« I fear that if we procrastinate, if nothing happens, the Marseille justice does not find himself in even more difficulty. You don't have to hang around », insists the magistrate. Indeed, the Marseille city should welcome new magistrates and staff in 2027. « The situation of over-occupancy of premises becomes unmanageable », we summarize from a good source.
For President Leurent, the project even continues to advance: “ We are in a pre-programming phase with the real estate unit of the Ministry of Justice [l’Agence publique pour l’immobilier de la justice, dite APIJ, NDLR] who began his interviews with the heads of poles ».The president of the court denies everything “ braking ». A project which would, however, ultimately cost a whopping 450 to 500 million euros.
Regular floods, broken sites, cramped rooms, difficult journey for litigants…
For Isabelle Fernandez, regional secretary of Unsa-judicial services, the same necessity is emerging.« This becomes imperative. We are more in the middle of confirmation than in stopping the project », she slips.
The union delegate easily lists everything that is wrong with the Marseille judicial court: regular flooding during rainy weather, completely destroyed sites, obsolete or cramped courtrooms and deliberations, offices of investigating judges and cramped children's judges, relocated court registries, work organization problems, lack of videoconference rooms, non-existent signposted routes for litigants who search in vain for the place of their summons… A real inventory to the dysfunctional Prevert of justice. “ It is first of all those who live in it who must decide for the others », she likes to repeat.
The judicial city of Marseille completed in 2031?
For President Mathieu Jacquier, however, nothing has been done. The laying of the first stone is far from having taken place and it is not before 2031 will this project, if it has to come to fruition, be completed. Suffice to say that the approximately 1,200 magistrates, clerks, assistants, specialized assistants, court officials and other contract workers of the Marseille judicial court will have to continue to live in palaces which are deteriorating. The President claims to have a “ alternative project » that he “ hopes to be able to present to the Minister of Justice before the end of the year ».
A project that would obviously cost less. Which would have found, according to Mathieu Jacquier, the attentive ear of Didier Migaud, who, in another life, chaired the Court of Auditors and therefore knows what public money means.
Another project for a future judicial city on the Center Bourse site
This project remains to be finalized, with the expected support of the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, and that of the president of the Aix-Marseille Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jean-Luc Chauvin, despite arbitrations still underway. Their competing project, if it sees the light of day, would be finalized on the Center Bourse site, outside Galeries Lafayette, a site currently occupied by commercial brands. 50,000m2 whose destination would be entirely dedicated to justice and would have the advantage of remaining in the city center.
Considerable economic benefits quantified by the Chamber of Commerce
The Chamber of Commerce carried out a careful impact study in March 2023, from which it emerged that 180 businesses are less than three minutes from the current courthouse and 580 others less than five minutes away, that 7 out of 10 lawyers are located less than ten minutes from the courthouse, with 600 direct jobs, 1,890 lawyers and 1,320 employees, or more than 3,800 potential consumers, not including litigants. . The study also estimated the expenditure on purchases of commercial catering for a simple lunch break at 7.4 million euros and the local expenditure incurred during the week by lawyers, their employees and more than 18 million euros per year. public court officials near the courthouse.
The new judicial city of Marseille in a flood zone?
« Justice must stay downtown », insists the Marseille president. “ It would be anything but a Tower of Babel », jokes Mathieu Jacquier, who claims to have visited the competing Euroméditerranée site several times, where the “Macronian” project is to see the light of day, between the Post Office platform on rue d’Anthoine and the tower. CMA-CGM. With the disadvantage, according to him, of being in a flood zone, next to the Aygalades stream, and an obvious requirement for overvaluation.
Interviewed by Nouvelles Publications on November 8, during the visit of ministers Didier Migaud and Benoît Retailleau to Marseille, to announce their plan to combat organized crimethe mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan indicated that he had even offered to contribute two schools to the city center project. Will he also be listened to? “ You have to find 50,000 m2but do we really need 50,000 m2 ? », noted, a little caustically, the chief magistrate of the city.
The big police station in Marseille still on the agenda
It should cost approximately 135 million euros and the project was already well advanced. For two years, General Controller Eric Arella has been in charge of this great mission. But now the former boss of the Marseille judicial police, roughly ousted in October 2022, was appointed head of public security in Monaco on September 9. Asked about the progress of the project recently, he forcefully denied that it had been stopped. “ Gossip! Backbiting! », he replied to us.
The project for this new police station continues. Its purpose is to tomorrow bring together all the staffs of the major Marseille police services, currently spread across several sites. The contract consists of the construction of a real estate complex of some 44,700 m2 of floor space sized to accommodate nearly 2,300 workstations.
The project for the new police headquarters in Marseille has fallen behind schedule
Three projects were even pre-selected, but the final choice has still not been made, a police source confirms. There is a delay. The winner was to be designated in the first quarter of 2024. The problem of relocating the CRS 54 barracks has not been resolved. Construction work on the new police headquarters was to begin in the fall of 2024 for a period of thirty months with a view to commissioning the equipment at the end of March 2027. For this project, as for that of the judicial city, we are therefore still far from laying the first stone.
“No budgetary cuts from Bercy executives! ”, we hope
« We strongly hope that Marseille will not suffer the budgetary blow from Bercy executives! »,comments a judicial source who reminds us that “Marseille en grand” must not remain an empty announcement.
Other police sources, at the highest level, however, remain very cautious. From a good source, we speak of “ project on stand-by pending budgetary decisions ». « With the restrictions, it is not guaranteed that it will remain on the agenda as it was initially conceived! »Another is ironic:« We could therefore build the police headquarters next to the judicial precinct, which would cost less, and we would thus have less distance to travel to take our delinquents from police custody to the courthouse! »
Perhaps an idea worth exploring in terms of proximity and savings, but for now, the large police hotel project remains well planned on the Saint-Pierre sitebehind the cemetery. The Bouches-du-Rhône police headquarters confirms that he is far from dead! We are therefore not taking the path of a single and unifying site for the two spearheads of justice and the Marseille police.
Related News :