The agglomeration of Marseilles benefits from an exceptional situation, at the junction of the Mediterranean Arc and of the Rhône Corridor. This acknowledgement has been prevailing for 26 centuries and explains in particular the historical development of the Port of Marseilles- Fos.

Marseilles and its metropolitan area are furthermore engaged at present in an ambitious process of development / repositioning within the alliance of the great European metropolises, and its effects are beginning to be felt.

What role in Europe and in the world can Marseilles then play in the new European and Euro-Mediterranean context that is taking shape, even though the centre of gravity of Europe is moving eastwards?

With its agglomeration, with the Euro-Mediterranean Operation of National Interest, "accelerator of metropolis", can the international maritime metropolis, in the field of the great networks, constitute eventually the main South-European pole of promotion and of valorisation of the exchanges?

To reply in the affirmative, the metropolis must first think about its development on several scales, within France and Europe and be permanently in line with these different levels.

• a de facto metropolis with a shared destiny,

• to reach a critical mass and make economies of scale,

• with a common development project.

The relevant territory, the Marseilles metropolitan area, going from Marseilles to Aix-en-Provence, Fos, Marignane, Aubagne and la Ciotat, to cite only part of the poles of this geographic and human entity, constitutes indeed a daily reality.

Every day, hundreds of thousands of people exchange, communicate, move inside this area to go to work.

The true area of life of the Centre and of the East of the Bouches-du-Rhône is indeed the Marseilles Metropolitan Area.

This urban ensemble, which constitutes with a population in the order of 1,6 millions of inhabitants the second French entity, is not however organized as an integrated development pole.

Penalized by the absence of a development and planning strategy shared by all the actors, the metropolitan area has witnessed the accentuation of the break-up phenomenon of its urban zones and the deterioration of the quality of life.

Furthermore, it has not been able either to acquire the status of great European and Mediterranean metropolis although its numerous assets would certainly allow it to claim it.

The construction of a shared project is essential today in view of the importance of the issues.

On the short term, the definition of the project of Agglomeration and of SCOT elaborated according to a shared technical and policy-making process will be the occasion to draw-up a Planning and development charter of the Metropolitan Area.

This document relative to objectives and orientation – called "charter of the metropolis" should be devised by the three intercommunalities of the CAPA, of GHB and of MPM, with the assistance of two planning agencies of Aix and Marseilles.

It will constitute their common contribution, following the publication of " the atlas of the metropolitans", an initiative supported by the three intercommunalities.

We are thus talking about the necessity to contribute to the construction of the Great Southeast – keystone of the Latin Arc, between Catalonia and Lombardy – around the duo-pole Lyon-Marseilles on the one hand, and of the constitution of networks of competitive cities at the scale of the Great Southeast, on the other hand.

As regards Lyon-Marseilles, the alliance sealed in 1997 by a charter between the two metropolises has acquired a founding value for the Great Southeast. This cooperation has already led to a certain number of reinforced collaborations in the field of relocations of scientific and academic organizations, in the field of textile and fashion cooperation, of tourism or yet with the creation of the charter of alliance around Lyon-Marseilles-Genoa- Barcelona.

One ought now to multiply the number of these collaborations, in particular around the issues concerning the planning and development within the Great Southeast, for example in the carrying out of actions around the Rhône corridor and the river, or through a detailed dialogue around projects of infrastructures in the domain of major accessibility.

If Lyon and Marseilles pursue objectives that are sometimes different in this domain, there is a true realization on both sides of what the Lyon-Marseilles partnership can capitalize in terms of image at the European scale, and on the other hand, about the wide perspectives of mobilization around common issues (TGV Barcelona-Montpellier-Marseilles-Lyon, Rhine-Rhone TGV, Rhine-Rhone canal, etc.).

However it is also very important to associate the other areas of the Great Southeast in its construction, whether it is the areas of the middle valley of the Rhône, the network of cities emerging of the lower Rhône, the cities turned towards the alpine area or finally the cities of the Mediterranean façade, in order to contribute to the structuring of a great relational system at the scale of the Great Southeast.

Contribute to the structuring of a Mediterranean Arc and of a Latin arc that do not really exist today.

Here, the objective is to integrate the agglomeration of Marseilles into a continental, dynamic and attractive ensemble, at the crossroads of "Euro-corridors" that have a development potential. In this instance, one ought to constitute a powerful ensemble that has reached a critical mass in order to polarize an important development in the south of Europe.

The valorization of this ensemble will contribute to a readjustment of the territory planning and of the European metropolitan functions, particularly in relation to the European ridge or "blue banana".

The Mediterranean Arc links Mediterranean regions of the European Union. It goes through Barcelona, Marseilles and Genoa. The Latin Arc, or South-European arc, brings together the regions of the Mediterranean Arc and northern remote regions like Rhone-Alps, Piedmont and Lombardy.

However, there should be no mistake about it: in terms of exchanges, the Mediterranean Arc and even the Latin Arc still have a relatively low weight compared with other European corridors.

Because of this, the part of the Mediterranean coast, included between the Rhône Valley and Genoa, which occupies the central position in the Mediterranean Arc, is especially exposed to risks of marginalization.

It is in particular for Marseilles and Genoa one of the interests presented by the reinforcement of the relations between the cities said of the "Latin Alps" (in particular, Lyon-Marseilles-Turin-Genoa-Milan).

The alliance charter, within this area, constitutes a significant advance, but as of today, Barcelona, Marseilles and Genoa seem to be more rivals (at port level in particular) than complementary, and they only maintain few economic relations between them.

The strategies implemented by Catalonia are in this respect, quite clear: the Barcelona-Lyon-Turin axis is indeed their main objective compared with the Barcelona-Marseilles-Genoa axis.

However, in its scenario for the integration or for the southern alternative, the European union has also clearly indicated that the integration of the central part of the Mediterranean arc was essential for the promotion of a balanced polycentric development for the European union.

This structuring represents many issues in terms of perspective of territorial readjustment of Europe in the South (in particular for what concerns the port), at a time when the closer perspectives of enlargement of Europe in the East do not militate in favour of the promotion of the Mediterranean area.

And yet for the Marseilles metropolitan area, this axis is of vital importance, because it confers to it its exceptional position of meeting point of a North-South logic and of an East-West logic in the European South.

The "dialectic" between the Latin arc, South-European arc, Mediterranean arc and western Mediterranean has notably made emerge within the European union, in the framework of the Interreg 3 B cooperation program, a cooperation zone called "western Mediterranean" that links in particular in a same area the regions of Lombardy, Piedmont and Rhône Alps, with all the coastal regions of the Mediterranean arc, from Andalusia to Sicily. An articulation is also planned between these South-European regions and the Mediterranean third countries, through the articulation between the INTERREG and MEDA programs.

It is in this framework that the C2M "cooperation Mediterranean metropolises" network has been presented and accepted by the commission.

This project brings together the cities of Marseilles, Lyon, Barcelona, Genoa, Seville, Malaga and Naples (as well as the cities of Tunis and Casablanca with an observer’s status) in a cooperation network about the economic functions of the metropolis.

The European union has laid seven years ago (Barcelona declaration) the foundations for an ambitious "Euro-Mediterranean partnership" with the countries located south of the Mediterranean

Seven years later, and a few years before the implementation of the free trade zone, the Euro-Mediterranean partnership struggles to create a significant momentum. The risks of a stalemate are real.

However, the relaunch of this partnership, the revival of the "Barcelona spirit", constitute a necessity, considering the risks of imbalance between the North and the South and the new political context resulting from the September 11^th, 2001 events.

Resting on its geographical position, its history, its multicultural identity, its double belonging to Europe and to the Mediterranean world, Marseilles and its metropolitan area have a real legitimacy to claim – at their level – a role in the construction of this area.

It is in particular a role of animation that the Marseilles metropolis could play –already plays - in the strategy of the European union (it has in particular welcomed in 2000 the fourth Euro-Mediterranean summit).

Today this role is beginning to be recognized by very important international institutions like the World Bank which plans to set up in September 2003 a branch in Marseilles intended for the MENA zone (Middle East North Africa).

The Marseilles metropolis, as well as the Euro-Mediterranean public corporation and the Chamber of Commerce are putting forward different substantial projects linked to its Euro-Mediterranean positioning:

Setting up in Marseilles of the Agency for the Promotion of the Mediterranean Investments, of the French agency for cooperation and development, etc.

It is now important that the European union and the State recognize fully this role, in particular by allowing Marseilles and MPM to welcome a permanent secretariat of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership.

After all is said and done, the project is to make of Marseilles a "Door City" of the European union in western Mediterranean, an international metropolis, maritime and Mediterranean, as well as a metropolis with networks, through a diversified territorial cooperation and networks of cities at different scales, capable of having an influence on the structuring of the metropolitan and European territory and through the optimization of its insertion into the great communication networks (transports, NTIC, energy, etc.) which will make the Europe and the Mediterranean of tomorrow. It is one of the new great challenges on which the Marseilles metropolis embarks with passion.

The life of economic cycles is similar to that of historical periods. The Mediterranean basin will one day or another play an essential role as far as the economic development is concerned. The networks logic of which Marseilles is deliberately a part will make it possible for this several hundred centuries old city to create the conditions of a development taking advantage of its transitional position between Europe and the Mediterranean.