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Assignment: Marseille: France’s crumbling city

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27/06/2019 GMT

Marseille: France’s crumbling city

BBC World Service - Assignment, Marseille: France’s crumbling city

As its city centre falls apart, Marseille is facing a crisis

In France’s second city, the collapse of two buildings killing eight people has prompted popular anger and political scandal. So why is Marseille falling apart?

On the 5 November last year, two apartment buildings collapsed in Marseille’s historic centre. Eight people died in a tragedy which has sent shockwaves through France’s second city, and the country. 

The accident sheds light on something that residents have been saying for years: Marseille’s city centre is falling apart. After decades of neglect by slum landlords, the poor, multi-ethnic area in the heart of the city is in a desperate state of disrepair. In a frantic attempt to avoid further disasters, the local government has evacuated thousands of residents from the area - and hundreds are still staying in hotels.

This tragedy has morphed into a political scandal which is shaken Marseille to the core – and anger at the local authorities is still palpable. 

Presenter: Lucy Ash
Producer: Josephine Casserly

(Photo: Graffiti in the neighbourhood of Noailles, Marseille. Credit: BBC)

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