The word 'Shaabi' for me in Egypt and other places in the Arabic region describes one class, one layer, this was my understanding. After working on a long-term project in Egypt about the local beaches, I wanted to discover the beaches in other places and see what it looks like. Is it the same everywhere? Is there something different! even if it's the same, I wanted to hear people's stories, I wanted to see the geography, even the colour of the water, It was then Marseille and it's beaches where I spent 2 months moving between its different beaches, I was amazed of how diverse it is in Marseille, on one beach you can find everybody, every colour. It is true that water is so liberating but I witnessed this clearly in Marseille where you can find everybody next to each other but also still enjoying their own individuality and privacy on every crowded beach.
Isn't it the perfect life we want? where you can live in a place with everybody but still be free to do what you want, It would be naive to generalize it about the whole city but at least this is how it was by the beach.
” I have been all of my life living by the Mediterranean, in Alexandria, Tunisia, Lebanon and visited almost every place by the Mediterranean but Marseille is my final destination...It's a place where you can find everybody together in one place, C'est Les Metissage ”
Myriam told me, looking toward the sea from the terrace of her house in Malmusque.
Marseille Le Metissage
2021 - 2022
“ Some people would say: Oh here on the beaches people are naked and do things that we don't accept but I believe that you only come to see the beauty you want to see and ignore what annoys you, I have been living here alone without my family since 23 years, my daughters come visit me with my grandchildren every summer, the sea is the place where I go whenever I feel sad or have troubles, it's my friend, it's better than a hundred therapist, and anyway I was born near the sea and that’s why I think I’m always connected to it. “ Amina lives in Marseille for 40 years, originally from Morocco. Amina - La Pointe Rouge
Vincent - Calanque of Niolon
”I like to be topless to feel the freedom I have, 100 meters from here I would never dare to do it, there is a lot of people around and I wouldn't feel comfortable,” Anna says. This is the first time to be naked on the beach “ It is also important not to be sexualized when it is not worth it. being able to be free, helps other women to be free, we support and inspire each other through our acts. My friend Charlotte did it too for the first time, we inspire each other to be free and it feels good to help someone feel comfortable” Anna - La Pointe Rouge
Sabrina the mother - Calanque of Sormiou
Ahmed - Malmousque
Fernando & Omar - Le Prophete
“ No sorry, but you can take a picture of me only, my family NO pictures. “ Mohamed - L’Estaque
Joss & Lisa - Calanque of Niolon
“ I'm a PhD student from Algeria and I have lived here in marseille for 2 years, I come alone to the beach sometimes just to enjoy some peace and the sea, this is the place where you can enjoy your own company. Here in Marseille, the beaches are so beautiful that you can't help but fall in love with it, the weather is nice, the nature is diverse Here the beach is more urban if I could say, however, the beaches in Algeria are wilder. What I love here in Marseille is the diversity of people you meet, and the mixture of cultures in one city. Living here in Marseille for 2 years so far changed me in a positive way, it made me more curious, and dynamic and opened up to people. “ Dahabeya - Les Catalans
“ We came all the way from Paris just to enjoy our summer “ Marie & Family - Calanque of Sormiou
Soliman & his brothers - Les Catalans
Lilian (R1) & Debora (L1) knew each other for 27 years, Lilian lives in Marseille, Debora Lives in Paris. “ It’s my first time visiting Marseille because I really wanted to see Lilian, we really wanted to dance like the old days when we used to do every time we meet,but Corona came on the way and also we are not vaccinated so we are not allowed into clubs here, so we decided to play music and dance by the beach, we can and will always find a way to enjoy our life. “ Debora says Lilian & Debora - Le Prado
Patricia - Le Prado “ I’m from Corsica, I don't like the beaches here in Marseille it's lame and too many people, The beaches in Corsica are bigger than here but I don’t have many choices, I wish I can be in Corsica but because of covid and my work, I can't go now, so I try to be at least near the sea. “
Pepito & his mother Fatiha - Le Prado
“ Marseille for me is so crowded and not clean, not the best for me but this city is always active and there are so many Armenian people, I'm Armenian myself so it’s good to be surrounded by your own people “ Armen - Les Catalans
“ Not a single time that we know the meaning of the sea that was 10 min away from us in Gaza until we lived in Paris. The sun for us is the sea, In Paris, we neither have the sun nor the sea. Marseille is the nearest place to the Mediterranean, with the same sun and the same energy. In Marseille you have the chance to think, people are free, the great mix between Arabs, French and Africans, create a style of life unlike any other city, here you don't understand a society, you need to understand each group how they think to protect yourself, not from violence but to live and choose the right life for you. In Marseille life is so neutral, in a place where you don't think where you are unless you hear the language. This is the place for us where we want to belong. “ Arab & Tarazan - Malmousque
“ Yesterday I wanted to go to the beach with my niece, In Marseille going to the beach is like a tradition. I used to go to the Catalans when I was younger. how scary it can be for a baby, I used to be afraid when I was young and I don't want it to happen to my Niece, so I take it upon myself to make her courageous unlike me. Rayhane - Les Catalans
Sarah & Lewis - Malmousque
Chef at the beach - Malmousque
Amina & Family - L’Estaque
“ I used to work in museums, I love art, I’m from the Catalans neighbourhoods, It’s so crowded now but It completely changes in September, with a lot of events happening for the people of Marseille like yoga classes, music and a lot of other activities. This summer is extremely crowded, with a lot of thieves and a lot of chaos, it’s overwhelming. I can’t wait for September to come. “ Beatrice - Les Catalans
“ I arrived here in 1995 from Russia, I was supposed to stay 4 months for work and I ended up living here, I choose to live near to the beach, I love Marseille as much as I hate it, you can never get bored here and this is the beauty about it.” Ruslan - Le Prophete
“ I love Mediterranean cities And that's why I always tend to live in Mediterranean cities Tunisia, Alexandria, Marseille. I'm an Archaeologist specialising in Mediterranean cities It's a place where you can feel at home because of the harbour and you can find everybody from all over the world here This summer is very different in marseille Usually, there are many people from other countries because of the lockdown, we have so many people from everywhere it is so crowded now. Physical contact with the sea is like closing the door and being inside the sea which is a feeling of liberation. “ Myriam - Malmousque
Sisters - Le Prophete
John & Haingo - L’Estaque
