Mediterranean Migrations and Cities with Their Cultural Histories and Imaginaries: The Case of Marseille

The purpose of this chapter is to reflect on the way in which the image of a city, in our case Marseille, is essential in terms of its relationship to otherness. The imaginary of the welcoming city results from a narrative created by historians, along with political and cultural elites, and is hence a complex matter. Marseille is a classic example of the inherent challenge of controlling the image and reputation of a specifically Mediterranean city. We attempt to show how, especially since the beginning of the nineteenth century, the constant flux of migrants arriving at its port has given Marseille a certain vitality, and helped develop an image of cosmopolitanism. However, racism has always lurked in the shadows of this cosmopolitanism: Italian migrants, in particular, have been victims of violence, for instance, in 1881 during the Vespers of Marseille. After examining the principal writings of various orders that have shaped the city’s cosmopolitanism, this study will focus on the intensity of the post-colonial period. At the end of the Algerian War, the city was plagued with isolated attacks by individuals and groups on nationals from Mediterranean countries, such as those from the Maghreb. The situation had deteriorated so much by 1973 that the slightest skirmish could set off a powder keg of hatred. Indeed, the city seemed to be struggling with a supposedly very low “threshold of tolerance”, and it was only the combined will of the municipal elites, and certain cultural and intellectual circles, which led to an improvement in the management of diversity, notably under Vigouroux from 1986 to 1995. Numerous interventions were initiated to create a “living together” urbanity under the slogan of “proud to be Marseillais”, but this urbanity remains fragile, as the representations of Marseille's cosmopolitanism are uncertain and confused.