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Marseille
  • 50'
  • Authors : Lorraine de Foucher, Pierre-Jean Perrin
  • 07-02-2016
  • Master : 2524

Marseille, the city with two faces | M6 | Enquête Exclusive

Marseille is the city of all the clichés. Boules, pastis, the old port, the OM soccer team, but also… cannabis traffic and bloody settling of accounts. 11 deaths already in 2015, and the victims are getting younger. The famous Phocean city suffers from an image of crime and ultra violence, but is now showing another face, a much more welcoming one. Hip parties, New York roof-top life style, avant-garde museums, and local success stories: the city is in mutation. The port and neighboring districts have been entirely restored and made safe. And tourism is exploding. In particular, with the opening of the first 5-star luxury hotel and visits from the giant liners that have now made Marseille a favorite port of call. As a result the city now welcomes 5 million tourists per year, twice as many as 3 years ago. There is also the Marseille that is a winner. Among the latest ambassadors for this success: Camille Lacourt, Florent Manadou and Frédéric Bousquet. Freshly crowned World or Olympic champions, they are members of the prestigious Marseille Cercle des Nageurs, one of the best swimming clubs in the world. Exceptionally, we were able to film behind the scenes in this astonishing stable of champions, in company with the gilded youth” of French sport. However, in reality, the city’s renewal is a two-speed process. While the old port and the sea front are flourishing, other districts lag behind. And Marseille holds the French record for inequality. In the very heart of the city there is even the poorest neighborhood in the country (the 3rd arrondissement). The parallel economy and the drug trade are booming there. Each day, police attempt to win back buildings fallen into the hands of the dealers. To rehabilitate the city, vast renewal project have been launched, including the massive Rocade development, designed to free up the center. And yet that too is running into local difficulties: it’s rotten with racketeering. Racked between renewal, its latest success and its old demons, will Marseille one day become a city like others?”


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