"He's a hero", "he hasn't forgotten where he came from", "it's a source of pride for us, he represents our neighborhood", launch into a machine gun flow, Mohamed Kherfouch, 15, Adem Abid, 16, and all their friends massed in front of the Digital Medical Center.

Children on the shoulders of the parents, teenagers with their arms stretched out towards the 1998 world champion to hope to get a photo, elderly people caught in the trap of journalists: the presence of the child from La Castellane, one of the poorest districts of Marseille, was expected.

Even some young lookouts tasked with alerting dealers to the arrival of the police struggled to guard their checkpoint alongside supermarket trolleys overturned on the roadway to slow car traffic.

They are more than a hundred, gathered together to hear their idol.

The majority, too young, have never seen him play.

The political figures, who have never been so numerous in the city overlooking the ferries parked in the port, chain the speeches.

The soft voice of "Zizou" is long overdue, so when the first words are spoken, the inhabitants applaud.

Zinédine Zidane at the inauguration of a teleconsultation office in the La Castellane district, on February 11, 2022 in Marseille CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU AFP

It had been years since the discreet 49-year-old footballer had made a public appearance in this neighborhood where one of his brothers still lives.

"You know, I'm from La Castellane, I grew up here with my parents. We still have our hearts that are there even if we're gone," said the former Real Madrid coach who still lives in Madrid.

"I'm not used to making speeches and who cares," continues the former number 10 of the France team, who nevertheless does not mince his words: "It's not possible to leave to widen the inequalities in access to care!".

"The brain of Castellane"

The 16th arrondissement in which the city of La Castellane is located, like the three others in the impoverished north of Marseille, are "less endowed than the rest of the city with general practitioners and specialists", according to the Regional Health Agency.

The last doctor who took care of the 7,000 inhabitants of these long blocks of buildings left two years ago.

Thanks to the teleconsultation terminals of the new medical center, equipped among other things with a blood pressure monitor, a stethoscope and a connected scale, the inhabitants, accompanied by a nurse, will be able to consult a doctor remotely.

Zinédine Zidane at the inauguration of a teleconsultation office in the La Castellane district, on February 11, 2022 in Marseille CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU AFP

"We have a very, very great need for doctors. With the Covid it was complicated", testifies Abdelkarim Zaatout, a teenager who admires Zidane, "the brain of Castellane".

"It's really a strong demand (...), we have to take the bus to go see doctors when we're sick, when we don't have a vehicle it's not easy", testifies Sabrina Choulak, of the association "Women of the world".

"We tried to bring in doctors, but they don't want to. We are therefore going to deploy a hybrid system with specialists who will be able to carry out consultations per half-day", explains Driss Khanès, the nurse behind the project. with Professor Philippe Metellus.

Moved to tears by the presence of his childhood friend, who brought "immeasurable light to this crucial project", Mr. Khanès finds it difficult to hide his emotion in front of the footballer, who, embarrassed, lowers his head.

Soberly, "Zizou" thanks him in turn "for this project which will provide effective solutions in people's daily lives": "I hope that this device can be deployed in all the districts which need it", he concludes. , before lending themselves to the game of autographs and leaving on tiptoe in a car that the young people of La Castellane will have a hard time letting go.

© 2022 AFP