The RN candidate, Franck Allisio, is tied in first place with the incumbent socialist mayor, Benoît Payan. For months, polling has shown that nearly one in three in this city of 880,000 inhabitants plan to cast their ballot for the National Rally, a figure 10 points higher than at the last local elections here in 2020. The prospect of a far-right mayor has gripped Marseillais since late last year. Whenever the local football team Olympique de Marseille have played a home game in recent months, fans have made their opposition to the far right clear in chants and banners.