The Marseille asset base: €17bn net, and why that figure is approximate.
M57 book value vs market value — a gap we cannot quantify, but can explain. What the balance sheet says, and what it does not.
assets and liabilities
Left: what the City owns. Right: how it is financed (equity + debts + provisions).
Assets · {year} — unavailable.
Assets, in detail
Breakdown of assets by major category: real estate, roads, equipment, participations, cash. SEMs and public offices have their own balance sheet (cf. social housing landlords).
Unavailable.
Note: fixed assets represent almost all of the balance sheet (> 95%). They include buildings, equipment, roads, networks — valued at historical cost, not market value.
Who does Marseille borrow from?
Financial debt breaks down into bank loans, bonds (capital markets) and structured loans.
Unavailable.
Trajectory 2019–2017
Financial debt, assets and equity across six fiscal years. Debt has grown faster than assets since 2020 (health crisis + capital investment).
Net assets
1,42€B
− 26 % vs 2017
Equity
0,00€B
− NaN % vs 2017
Financial debt
1,42€B
− 26 % vs 2017
Debt represents 100% of assets in 2017 (vs 100% in 2017). The ratio is conventionally considered safe below 40%.
Off-balance-sheet commitments
Primarily loan guarantees granted to social housing landlords: Marseille repays in their place only if they default.
Off-balance-sheet data unavailable for this fiscal year.
The safeguards
The four balance rules a local authority must observe to remain solvent.
01 / Real balance
Operating section voted in balance
Operating revenue must cover operating spending. Impossible to borrow to pay staff or recurring grants.
Article L.1612-4 CGCT02 / Earmarked borrowing
Borrowing finances only capital investment
No debt to pay day-to-day costs. Debt builds schools, swimming pools, housing — assets that serve for a long time.
Article L.1612-4 CGCT03 / Repayment
Debt principal repaid from own resources
Each year, loan principal repayments must come from savings, not from new borrowing.
Article L.1612-4 CGCT · circulaire DGCL04 / Sincerity
The budget must be sincere
Revenue is not overstated, spending is not understated. Monitored by the regional chamber of accounts.
Loi de programmation des finances publiques 2023-2027Further reading
Articles, investigations and profiles connected to the numbers on this page.
Analysis
Explainer
Debt-repayment capacity: a figure not to read alone.
10 years, 12 years, 15 years — what this ratio actually measures, and why it says something other than "how indebted Marseille is".