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Marseille, a port city since 600 B.C., has offered refuge to wave upon wave of immigrants. The Mediterranean metropolis of more than 850,000 is home to 100,000 foreigners from Algeria, Italy, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, and beyond.
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Marseille's very own triumphal arch, the Porte d'Aix, was built in 1823 and is now a gathering spot for many immigrant groups. While France doesn't officially recognize any racial or ethnic differences among its citizens, Marseille—widely regarded as one of the most diverse cities in western Europe—just can't ignore these distinctions. In fact, its government has largely embraced multiculturalism, sanctioning and even organizing groups like Marseille Espárance, or “Marseille Hope,†a loose coalition of Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, and Muslim leaders that has helped keep the city mostly harmonious and calm, even as ethnically fueled riots have erupted elsewhere in the country.
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The game of pétanque—similar to lawn bowling—is the great local pastime. Here, young players smoke, drink pastis, chat, and try to toss hollow metal balls as close to a tiny wooden cochonnet, or piggy, as possible.
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Marseille's buzz of humanity is on display in its cafés. The city has long attracted storytellers—like Alexandre Dumas—who soak up rough, raunchy local color along with bowls of bouillabaisse as they build up the city's mystique.
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A medley of high school friends socialize, swim, and bask in the Mediterranean sunshine at Plage Borély, a beach just south of the city center. Marseille boasts miles of public seashores that are easily accessible by bus from almost any corner of town, and these communal stretches of sand and sea have become a real melting pot, especially for younger generations. "The most important [thing] is not our skin color. It is to have fun, and one of the best spaces to have fun is the beach," explains 18-year-old Johanna Garcia (in blue striped bikini, second from the right), whose grandparents emigrated from Spain. "We don't look at the differences. We feel like [we're] all equal, and we don't give any attention to our skin color and origin. Our priority is to have fun."
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While the media debate the newly enacted French ban on the full-face veil, in Marseille it's much more common to see young people from Muslim backgrounds who are well integrated into French culture. Here, one of those very modern Muslim women—Nabila Boudjellal, a 31-year-old of Algerian descent—celebrates her upcoming wedding in high style, reveling with a gaggle of girlfriends at a downtown carousel.
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Many immigrants live and work in central neighborhoods like the Noailles district, rather than living segregated in far-flung suburbs, as in Paris.
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An immigrant from Tunisia waits patiently for relatives to greet him at the Gare St.-Charles, the bustling central train station. It was September 2010, just months before the upheavals of the Arab Spring. For this man, the chance to begin life anew, in Marseille, had already arrived.
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In late April refugees who fled poverty and violence in Tunisia only to end up homeless in their new, adopted city of Marseille were forced to rely on the kindness of strangers—in this case, local Muslims and left-wing activists who distributed food, clothes, and other provisions near the Porte d'Aix.
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In the shadow of St.-Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church, passersby reflect the diversity of Marseille. Immigrants "consider themselves Marseillais from the moment they get here," observed one resident.
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Members of the Jewish community of perhaps 70,000—one of Europe's largest—attend a funeral at St.-Pierre Cemetery. Jews and Muslims alike "are careful with the words we use," says a Jewish leader. "Marseille is like a volcano: If you say something you should not, it may burst."
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After Friday prayers Comoran men in traditional robes and caps wait for friends alongside—but definitely apart from—fellow Muslims from the Maghreb. Though they all share the same religion, there are deep divisions among Comorans, Algerians, Tunisians, and other Muslims in Marseille: "The Muslim community has no cultural unity," observes Françoise Lorcerie, director of research at the National Center for Scientific Research in Aix-en-Provence. "They share the same neighborhoods, but they don't use the same languages, and they don't dress the same way. Generally these relationships are distant but not conflicting." But with each passing generation, the cultural divisions tend to disappear.
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During Friday prayers the faithful overflow into an alley behind the mosque on Rue Gaillard in northern Marseille. The city's growing number of mosques and prayer rooms isn't keeping pace with the ever expanding Muslim population.
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A Muslim family watches sheep being butchered at Moustapha Slimani meat market during Id al-Adha, the holiday commemorating Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. Many sheep are still ritually slaughtered in Muslim homes, despite a law forbidding the practice.
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Maoulana Charif, an imam from the Comoros islands, relaxes at home with his daughters in Plan d'Aou, a housing project in northern Marseille. He hopes his presence brings a sense of stability to the rough immigrant area.
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Once seedy and dangerous, the hip Cours Julien neighborhood is crammed with cafés, bars, and bookstores. But Marseille, with its notorious tradition of political corruption, mob violence, and drug trafficking, still struggles with a major crime problem.
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