From the Bassin de Séon to the foothills of the Massif de l'Étoile, along the banks of the Aygalades and the rue de Lyon, the North of Marseille carries a singular and contradictory yet well-known mythology.

While the idle bourgeois lifestyle of the 19th century has long given place to an industrial and working-class identity, the hazardous blend of , contrasts and divisions, so typical of Marseille's northern suburbs, is about to be replaced by a more supervised and planned city. The term “reconquest”, ANRU (National Urban Renewal Project), TGV, Euroméditerranée, urban renewal, Marseille-Provence 2013... are all slogans that have succeeded each other for the past 15 years like a litany, trying to exorcise a curse.

However, some people carry on deploying their talent, their intuition or their pragmatism to keep the streets alive. Indifferent to statistics and press releases, young people from the northern suburbs stubbornly resist renewal plans, thus showing off their friendly or untamed revolt against the coldness of the future city. While the city's image and branding become a central concern, as Marseille « speeds up » to become a capital city, neighborhood life in the North of Marseille is still, until today, the best answer to the forces of amnesia and obliteration.

Jérémy Garniaux

EXPOSITION
Yohanne Lamoulère, Faux Bourgs
January 15 - March 31, 2013
Fnac - Centre commercial de la Bourse
13001 Marseille
France