C ONT INUED ...
GRIT & GRANDEUR MARSEILLE ’S BUSINES S RENAISS ANCE BRINGS NEW OPPO R T UNIT IE S
continued from page 37
the only interco to Montrea N
“W ontinental flights are
Island and Madagascar. “We want to break the stran lehold t rports h
fli s to Ter
real,, North Africa, Réunion t
tranglehold hat Nice and Paris aiirp
encourancouraging Emirates to come here. And we’d like to get direct flights to the USA and China.” Tere is one international
ts have,” Tissot says. “We’re nd
link, however, where Marseille in , ho centres, schools, colleg hotels, a 96
hotels, apartment blocks and public spaces popping up everywhere. As you approach from the north of the city via the A55 autoroute, you’ll see two skyscrapers dominating the skyline: the Zaha Hadid- designed CMA CGM Tower is home to the huge shipping firm of the same name, while the Jean Nouvel-designed La Marseillaise is a 31-storey office block. Te other standout landmark is a Hollywood-style sign on the Grand Littoral hillside.
buildings, shopping t block and public s
build leges, libraries, When it comes to injecting business
opportunities into the region, there’s a project even bigger in size and ambition than Euroméditerranée. Amalgamating more than 3,000 sq km of western Provence, and 1.83 million people, it’s called the Métropole Aix-Marseille Provence.
DIGITAL ADVANTAGE Maxime Tissot, director of Marseille’s tourism office, claims this merger will result in a 7.5 per cent increase in business across the region, especially among smaller enterprises. “A better synergy and cohesion is what we want,” he told Business Traveller. “Te problem is it’s difficult to encourage people to be metropolitan. Most think of themselves as being from Marseille, Aix or Auban; not being from the metropolis as a whole.” Tissot suggests Marseille’s transport links
need to improve. Although high-speed TGV trains currently link Marseille Saint- Charles station to Paris in three hours and 20 minutes, the airline services from Marseille Provence airport are fairly limited if you need to fly beyond Europe. Currently
NOVEMB ER 2018
its weight. Tissot explains how the fibre-optic cables that link the USA to southern Europe snake along the Atlantic seabed and arrive at Marseille. “So our city gets its
its weig
how the fibr he n E
ic c he U A to
digital information a few micro-seconds before
other cities,” he adds. Apparently this makes a sizeable difference, allowing Marseille businesses, especially those in IT and digital services, to steal a march on rivals.
Locals can’t agree whether
the Métropole Aix-Marseille Provence is a blessing or a curse. Some say it’s great for Marseille since a link with the very posh Aix-en-Provence soſtens the former’s insalubrious image. Conversely, residents of Aix complain that Marseille’s reputation debases them by association. Tere have been suggestions that huge amounts of public money have been wasted on fruitless projects. But all along this beautiful stretch of
Mediterranean coastline, business seems to be flourishing. Te marketers behind the Métropole pinpoint six key industries, mostly centred in Marseille itself. Aeronautics is one of the most important, thanks to Marseille Provence airport where Airbus Helicopters, Daher and Bonnans have bases. Tere are plenty of health and biotechnology companies, focused around what’s known as the Marseille Immunopole cluster. Important firms include Innate Pharma, HalioDX, Eurofins Biotech Germande and Provepharm. Tere’s a troop of green energy companies,
punches well above p
too, including DualSun and Onet Technologies, plus a sizeable presence in the maritime industry, thanks to the city’s huge industrial port – the largest in France.
In terms of data centres, the region is France’s second most important aſter Paris
START-UP COMPANIES But like all cities on the make, the industries that Marseille is most excited about are the creative ones. Te Métropole cites fashion brand American Vintage (launched by Marseille entrepreneur Michael Azoulay), jeans designer Kaporal and clothing brand Sessùn. Te city is also doing its best to attract start-up companies in media and IT. Already there is Jaguar Network, Wiko, Gobi Studio, Oxatis, Devisubox, Vigimilia and Destino Mundo. Tere’s also a big
push for tech start-up companies to move to the area, spearheaded by a
government-funded scheme called Aix-Marseille French Tech. It highlights the fact that, in terms of data centres, the region is France’s second most important aſter Paris.
It points out that Aix-Marseille University has 77,000 students, making it the largest in the French-speaking world; and that half the region’s population is under 35 years old. Te plans are to “grow start-ups from the idea stage to the tech champion stage”. But Marseille still has its crime problems
and gritty image. You can pump as much money as you want into a city, but it’s difficult for it to shake off its notoriety. Perhaps it shouldn’t even try. Perhaps the gritty image is all part of its attraction. Jonathan Meades is a British writer and
film-maker who relocated to Marseille eight years ago. As an outsider, he is better placed than most to summarise this great city. “It’s a most congenial place to inhabit,” he
says. “Friendly in a way that Paris has never been, and laid-back in a way that London has never been. It’s also rather bolshie. It is to France what Liverpool is to England. You might get a kicking on a Friday night, but they will embrace you and apologise aſter.” BT
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