MEDITERRANEAN CHRONICLES
Today I am taking you to Marseille.
Most famous are its old harbour,
its bouillabaisse, Plus Belle la Vie,
the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica and the Velodrome Stadium.
It's also France's second city with 900,000 inhabitants.
You'll see that Marseille is full of eco-civic initiatives,
solidarity efforts, innovative projects
and it feels good.
MARSEILLE DIFFERENTLY
We start the visit on two wheels with Jean-Pierre and his segways.
It's not really made for lazy people.
A lesson in sailing and solidarity? That is Arthur's specialty.
Just a bit more and we're good.
In the flea market, Catherine shows us her contemporary art gallery.
Your gallery is quite an insane project.
In the northern districts,
Terre de Mars is testing a new form of urban farming.
So you can almost eat the soil? - Please, go ahead.
The renovations of the western districts and the opening onto the port
have created a new dynamic for the city.
After some time abroad, especially in Los Angeles,
Jean-Pierre is back in his La Joliette district.
He has come back with a strange device: the segway.
This feels amazing.
Great, isn't it? - It actually feels light.
I often say that it's a cross between skis and a magic carpet.
Skis and a magic carpet.
It feels like you're gliding on a magic carpet.
SEGWAY GUIDE
And as for the skiing,
when we have to start turning,
you have to go like that.
What are the rules you need to know for when you are on a segway?
The first rule is to know that you are on the sidewalk,
so pedestrians have right of way.
We can't go fast and must watch out for pedestrians.
It's surprising that we are allowed on the sidewalk.
I thought we had to go on the road.
With segways, legislation considers them as pedestrians.
We can go on the sidewalk,
as long as we go as fast as a pedestrian.
Sort of like this. And to stop I bend my knees?
Bend your knees, lean back and it stops.
I'm still not used to it but it'll come after a while.
You do need five minutes to get used to it.
I guess helmets are recommended? - Mandatory.
We're being a bit crazy just for today.
Because it's just the two of us.
But when there are 15 people... - Then you need a helmet,
extra tour guides to supervise people.
That's when it goes well. - Where are we going now?
Shall we go to the Mucem? - Good idea.
Can I go a bit faster? - Nobody's around so we can.
On the J4 esplanade you will discover the Villa Méditérannée
and the Mucem, Museum of Civilisations from Europe and the Mediterranean.
Two architectural works of art that stand by two old jewels,
Fort Saint-Jean and the Marseille Cathedral.
It doesn't look tiring,
but I can still feel that it...
It's not really made for lazy people.
It may look like it, but it's not.
There is pressure on your legs.
It's like when you get down from the machine when skiing.
You really want me to start skiing.
You might have to. - Maybe.
What I tell all my clients:
when you use a segway in Marseille,
you get your segway license
because after that it becomes really easy to do it anywhere in the world.
Marseille is the hardest: we only have slopes,
hills, small streets, loads of people.
That's why it's a good idea. It's a great initiation.
This has got to be the most beautiful view of Marseille.
They are beautiful monuments. - I'm quite close to the water.
You have to be careful not to fall in here.
This ride has been amazing. - We have a beautiful view.
When you turn around there is always a beautiful view.
When you go for a ride, how many segways are there?
What's the maximum? - It depends.
Lately, we've been getting companies coming with large groups.
That's a nice company gift. - It's a great company gift.
We take up to 30 people.
So you go through the city with 30 segways?
We've managed groups of up to 30 people.
Of course, there is more staff in such a case
but it has happened.
The people who just walk, like me. What do they say about it?
Especially the locals.
The locals rediscover their city.
They all say it.
So when I tell them a ride costs 20 euros an hour
and we show you the city, they say:
"We're from here, we just want to have fun".
But not with you.
I agree, we leave and we don't visit anything.
In the end they stop to take pictures of monuments as they rediscover it all.
On the way back they all say the same:
"It's great, we rediscovered the city with that".
It's also ecological and electric.
We ride, we don't polute, we show them our city.
Marseille is a very beautiful city.
It's especially big. - It is very big.
Not everyone can go around on a segway by the waterfront.
I think that it's very chic. And you know what?
We're off again for a ride. Are you coming with us?
Recently, Marseille tourist guides have thought of new ways to show you around.
I found you a guide: Marseille, insolite et secrète.
You should know there are other ways to discover this city.
You can also visit Marseille like this.
There we are.
Not bad, right?
If I understood it right, on my tablet
I press here.
Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde,
oh good mother,
guardian of Marseille,
oh good mother,
confidante and protector.
Not bad, right?
With this small tablet, you can visit all the monuments in Marseille.
In Marseille, you have to go by the sea when visiting the city.
Let's step aboard a rather unique ship.
With his organization Mixivoile,
Arthur aims to give hope to people who are struggling.
By changing how to view disabled people and youngsters struggling at school,
the sailboat becomes a place to meet and of solidarity.
This boat, Arthur,
is called a schooner.
MIXIVOILE FOUNDER
Exactly, because there are two masts which are the same size.
And there are three sails. - Exactly.
There's not much wind today. - We'll see if it changes.
We'll see when we are out at sea. - Yes.
How far are we going?
We'll try to go to Château d'If, at the old port.
We're going to go around the Marseille harbor.
Marseille is great for sailing. - You're absolutely right.
We have the Calanques National Park just outside Marseille.
We have the Frioul archipelago, the Château d'If, the harbour entrance,
weather that favors sailing.
I like the weather today, it's different from what we usually get.
It's a bit like Britanny.
It's not raining enough for that.
Do we roll it or fold it?
We're going to roll it up and put it in the front.
So, this boat, Arthur
it also allows for something else.
It really opens up connections with people.
Our organization, Mixivoile,
we give sailing lessons.
But that's not all.
We want to use the boat as a way of integration.
Yes. - It's a boat for everyone.
It's very simple. - That's great.
It's a boat that's open to anyone in Marseille.
We want to create a social diversity on board.
On a boat we are all equal.
All the social norms that exist on land
are smashed on the boat and everyone is equal.
Sailing courses also help create a crew composed of
youths with integration problems and active companies.
Today, Amel and Quentin have boarded the boat with us.
Two youths full of energy, searching for a new path
and undergoing academic reorientation
to see their professional project through.
Even without much wind, you can hoist the sail.
Yes, once we've left the harbor using the engine
we're going to sail.
Meanwhile, Amel is at the rudder.
She's steering the boat. - Good job Amel, keep steering.
Let's go, we're hoisting.
You have to keep an eye out and be in sync.
Being on a sailing boat takes team work.
Alone, you won't get far.
The boat always works when there are several people.
Very good. We're going to use the winch.
Alright. Let's go, Karine.
There's not much wind so don't add too much tension.
Always put the handle away because it can't swim.
If it falls overboard... - The handle can't swim, today's saying.
Arthur, Mixivoile's project
is more than just sailing.
What values do you share when you go out at sea?
The first value when at sea is mutual help.
Teamwork.
We saw it earlier when trying to sail. - Yes, hoisting the sail
takes a team. - Exactly.
It's the same on water.
Boats are very united.
Solidarity on the water is the first value.
Next is humility, because the sea is always strongest.
It always sets us straight, which is a good thing.
Is that a value that you both feel while on board?
That unity is important?
Yes, because we can't do everything
if nobody helps us and so the boat won't move.
We won't move. - You have to be as one.
Team spirit.
Arthur, you were saying that 75% of young people can't swim.
Yes, mainly in the northern districts of Marseille,
there are districts where the kids
don't have access to the sea and can't swim.
It's incredible that in this city...
It's one of Mixivoile's goals, to tell kids "come and sail"
and to then motivate them to learn how to swim.
It's important as we have an amazing seafront.
And going to the beach is free so everyone should enjoy it.
You get young people and people with reduced mobility
as this is open to everyone. - Exactly, yes.
Do you discover different natures
with the people who come?
Do they discover themselves? - Exactly.
People change when they are on board. Everyone is equal to start off.
All the social pressures or conflicts disappear when they are on board.
People really get to be themselves.
We see that there is a humanity that is there and everyone is the same.
Everyone can sail together.
That's the adventure that Mixivoile offers.
You had an excellent idea with Mathieu who isn't here.
It's a really good idea.
Nice view, isn't it?
Here you have the old harbor, the Panier over there
and there are the northern districts where amazing things happen.
Right next to the large maritime port,
I am going to show you a unique place:
Marseille's flea market.
It has been at the cap pinède for almost 30 years,
where the old Alstom factories used to be,
which made nuclear reactors.
In 1987, a private company buys the location
and takes apart the huge installations of the hanger's 23,000 square meters.
One year later, the new owners enter into a partnership with the city
and create Marseille's new flea market.
Open from Tuesday to Sunday,
it houses an indoor market,
a market hall and an antiquities section.
In the middle of all this,
Catherine Coudert decided to promote art.
In the galerie Saint-Laurent,
the environment is colorful and completely different.
So now we are entering the hall.
Catherine, this is even more...
The architecture is surprising.
It's spectacular.
DIRECTOR
It's beautiful. - And the contrast...
Here we enter the galerie Saint Laurent.
The heart of the matter, Catherine. - The galerie is divided into sections.
This allows it to welcome many artists.
There are about 20 sections.
And we work more like an art center than a gallery.
Because we have so many artists, about a dozen.
Once, we presented one hundred artists.
That's a lot. - Yes.
This project goes back to 1982
when I went to New York.
I went to New York and discovered street art there
in a place called 5.Z.
I thought street art was doodles.
There, I understood that it really was artists.
Your gallery is quite an insane project.
Yes, it's an insane project because... - There is an eye on the future.
Of course. On the future, on the district,
on the people walking by.
Giving that cultural movement here in the 15th arrondissement
where you hear more talk about AK47s rather than art.
I think having a 600 square meter contemporary art gallery is amazing.
There are huge frescos in the middle of a parking lot.
Yes, on every side and there will be more.
Each year for the Marseille Street Art Show, which is a festival,
this year's edition will be the third year,
we paint frescos in many places.
We have the room as the flea market is full of walls.
It's incredible.
We have the time and we have the walls.
The most important part is having artists and walls.
The people who live here are in favor of it
because they think it adds value to their district
by all this art that is put up on the walls.
Nothing is damaged, nothing gets tagged.
We are very happy. - And they help you too.
They help us. When the artists are there and need some paint
they go and get it in the hall behind us.
The shopkeepers often give it to them for free.
They'll say: "It's for the wall? Take it, it's free".
It's open to the public, everyone can come.
It's always open, the gallery is also open.
It's free? It's free.
Free art. - Free art in the 15th arrondissement.
Don't forget to go to the 1st floor when you come here.
This is Richard's domain and I've got what I'm looking for.
Let's stay in the northern districts, but in the countryside.
In the early 20th century,
the Saint Marthe district was the agricultural hot spot.
The whole city looked to its farmhouses, hills and its terraces.
This is where I am meeting Augustin and his companions from Terre de Mars.
At the Mas de la Gorguette, these people in their late 20s
have one ambition: planting, watering and harvesting.
Firstly, to promote healthy agriculture
but also to change the world.
A return to roots while moving forward.
This is really nice.
How far is the city-center?
Straight ahead. Three miles as the crow flies.
Tell me, Augustin, is this farmhouse a family affair?
That's it, it's a family property.
For how long was nothing grown here? Wasn't this your grandfather's?
My great-grandfather. So it goes back 40 years.
Nothing has happend for about 40 years.
Here, on the property on the Gorguettes
and overall the whole district and maybe even all of Marseille.
AGRICULTURER - LANDSCAPER
It really was time to come back. - Indeed.
How many hectares are there?
There are over 50 hectares. - I heard there were chickens.
There are chickens.
About farmhouses,
you were saying that they have been around forever.
Since about the 16th century.
The farmhouse was both a home
and a productive place with agricultural lands.
The farmhouse was self-sufficient.
You're doing the same with the chickens. - Exactly.
So... - Hello girls.
We get all our eggs and they eat all our compostible waste.
It's a complete cycle. - It's like real life.
So everything starts from here?
That's it, we have our own patches
using seeds from seed sellers in the region.
That's good. - It's all organic.
You're saying that Monsanto has no say in the matter.
Not really. - It's so good to hear that.
If they come we'll be ready.
Take up plants, people.
At Terre de Mars, no chemicals or mineral inputs are used to cultivate.
The organic matter comes from the Écuries de la Roserie
or the teaching farm La Tour des Pins, two neighbors in the northern districts.
Working in direct relation to nature,
so as to work with it and not against it.
We are planting tomatoes.
What's good is they are bushy, so they don't need tending to.
AGRICULTURER - LANDSCAPER
We plant them and there is no need for posts or nets.
Which helps save money.
- In how you work, you think overall,
economics, diversity, and also, and also.
Is that how you see things?
We're also inspired by permaculture.
Permaculture is about observing nature, among other things,
paying attention to what is happening
and trying to move towards the vegetable garden by producing.
You told yourselves that it's obvious to work like people used to.
I think we all share an ideology
about well-being, about good-living
and our training made us open our eyes
AGRICULTURER - LANDSCAPER
to the importance of protecting nature and eating properly.
We also like using forgotten practical knowledge,
not ancestral techniques, but old ones
without living in a cave.
You're not cut off from technology. - Not at all.
We're constantly using our phones in the fields,
planting tomatoes while answering emails.
We're on facebook, we're very connected.
I think one of agriculture's futures could be showing what it is.
It's a beautiful yet difficult profession,
but it needs to be communicated.
For the last few decades,
there's a gulf.
A gulf between the consumers and producers.
We are trying to reinvent this profession
without reinventing the wheel
but by finding other ways to add value to the produce, agriculture
by creating more activities around them. - A different synergy.
What do you do, Manon? - I'm in charge of the educational part.
I set up guided tours of the farm.
I go to see children in schools to raise awareness
about agriculture and show them who the farmers of tomorrow are.
I show them you can be a young urban farmer.
And dynamic. - Dynamic too.
I also offer lessons and workshops for adults here.
Can we talk of a terroir effect in how you work the work the soil?
That's actually what we're doing.
It's all about the terroir.
What's important in this tomato plant, a variety you could find elsewhere,
is that it's like wine. It grew in the Marseille terroir.
This terroir has a taste.
This terroir has unique features that you won't find elsewhere.
It has never been contaminated by
anything that could pollute it
as agriculture ended a long time ago.
These lands are very fertile.
So you can almost eat the soil? - Please, go ahead.
Maybe later.
Good soil and mainly great energy.
Terre de Mars is also a landscape studies office,
baskets full of fruits and vegetables and even local meals.
So sign up.
This contrast is quite striking. - Yes, it's amazing.
We're still in the city, right? - Yes we are.
That's why even if we farm in a natural environment
we call it "urban farming".
We're trying to find a link between the city and the countryside
which was lost decades ago.
Isn't Sainte Marthe the last green lung?
It is and it is under great threat
that comes from great economic pressure.
What Terre de Mars wants to show
is that farming in Marseille is possible.
Over time, we would like to unite the players of this district.
So that the Sainte Marthe district could become important to the city.
You would also gain ground to make all this green.
Exactly. - We'll make it.
Subtitles: Babel Subtitling – babelSUB.be