Muselier Confirms Senate Bid as New Councils Move Fast on Budgets, Pay and Policing

Overview

• Renaud Muselier, who disclosed his bid on Wednesday, said he will leave the regional presidency if he wins the Bouches‑du‑Rhône Senate seat on September 24.
• Muselier named François de Canson as his preferred successor, a choice already drawing resistance on the right as local elected officials who will vote in the Senate race weigh their alignments.
• In Roubaix’s first meeting, the new LFI majority lifted the mayor’s monthly pay to €4,876 and raised adjoints’ indemnities while cutting those for councillors without delegations, and it also backed a pro‑Palestine motion with a pledge to light city hall in Palestinian colors.
• In Saint‑Denis, newly elected mayor Bally Bagayoko began a process to disarm the municipal police, a step that has prompted worries inside the force and political pushback.
• Under tight finances, Marseille presented a plan to keep a high level of investment and said municipal police hiring would reach 850 officers by year‑end, while Istres launched a financial audit citing a €67 million payroll that consumes two‑thirds of its operating budget.