Anthony Micallef, Michèle Rubirola and dislodged people, in front of the town hall of Marseille.

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Adrien Max / 20 Minutes

  • The “Indigne Toit” exhibition is visible on a facade of the town hall and all around Place Bargemon until November 22, even during confinement.

  • This exhibition presents photos, texts and sounds, relating the daily life of Marseillais dislodged from their homes.

  • Currently 400 to 500 people still live in hotels.

“My name is Baiha.

I'm 70 years old and I lived for 22 years in a rotten building on rue Tapis Vert.

I have been requesting an apartment since 2017, and have never received a response.

I was dislodged, and have been living in the hotel since June 13, 2018. I am very tired.

I lost my morale, sometimes I can no longer hold on.

I want peace, to be able to stay at home and live the days that I have left to live in peace.

I cannot continue too much… ”, testified, full of emotion, this dislodged.

Like Baiha, they are still 400 to 500, in Marseilles, to live in hotels after having been evicted from their homes following dangerous orders.

This is the story of all these dislodged, which Anthony Micallef wished to relate through the “Indigne Toit” exhibition, the photos of which are projected on the town hall and around the Bargemon space until 22 November.

“Following the collapse of the buildings on rue d'Aubagne, I wondered what there was to say that was different from what we could find in the media.

And I chose to tell the consequences of these collapses on the living, ”he says.

"To restore their dignity"

The hardest part was not to convince them to testify, but to find their traces after being scattered in hotels all over Marseille.

“Once found, the vast majority of these people would say 'thank you for coming',” he explains.

The exhibition consists of photos, texts, and sound thanks to QR codes.

“The photos are mainly there to restore their dignity when they were made to disappear.

The image can thwart this disappearance, this invisibility.

Sounds and texts are almost the most important.

They are there to free the word from this taboo that is poor housing here in Marseille and which nobody dared to talk about before the tragedy in the rue d'Aubagne ”, he explains.

The “Indigne Toit” exhibition on the dislodged in Marseille, projected on the facade of the town hall.

- Adrien Max / 20 Minutes

But also to show that this problem concerns everyone.

“Rue Curiol, they endangered two buildings, but ten around were evacuated.

It is the business of all citizens, ”recalls Anthony.

For almost two years, he collected no less than 12,000 images, many of which have already been published in the media.

“But I wanted them to be seen by the maximum in the public space.

And what better than the town hall which until the election of the new municipality, represented contempt?

My only condition was to have carte blanche, and that's what I had ”, relates, happy, Anthony Micallef.

"I am at the head of an institution which has a lot to be forgiven"

Michèle Rubirola, the new mayor of Marseille, whose public appearances are relatively rare, wanted to be alongside these dislodged, after the silence of the old municipality.

“As mayor, I am at the head of an institution which has a lot to be forgiven and which must admit its fault.

In four months, we do not erase 25 years of inaction, but we put ourselves in battle order, ”she announced.

Even with this new confinement, the photos "of drama but also of solidarity", for some 4 meters high, are visible on a facade of the town hall, and all around the Place Bargemon.

“It will probably be the only cultural offer during this confinement, and the town hall remains open.

It can be the occasion for a quick exit to watch the draws, ”he hopes.

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  • Marseilles

  • Collapsed buildings in Marseille

  • Exposure

  • Bad housing

  • Culture

  • Photo