Is Marseille a safe place to ride a bicycle? I learned to ride a bike quite recently and I was thinking about moving to Marseille next year to study.

I love bikes and I would love to be able to get one there and move around the city using it. I've also seen that there are a lot of beautiful locations surrounding the city and I would love to know if I could get there using the bike.

I mentioned the fact that I learned to ride quite recently because I am still afraid of the cars and I would prefer not to ride along the cars in the road. So, is there any kind of cycle lane to move around the city?

Also if anyone could tell me if it is usual for the residents to move around using a bike it would be great.
Marseille was voted worst French city for cyclist in 2013 (see here), but apparently they are trying to change that. Here are potentially useful links: maps of cycle lanes in the city, and a city bike rental scheme run by the city.

You should keep the following in mind also: Marseille gets very hot in the summer and is one of the worst French city for air pollution. You should also get a very good bike lock as theft is rife in some neighbourhoods.

Despite all this, I think it doesn't hurt to try it for a while using the bike rental scheme (first 30 minute is free apparently) and decide if it's for you or not.