Marseillais du Nord - Les Seigneurs de naguère

Publisher's presentation : [translated & adapted from the French text by L'Ascenseur Végétal]

"In the early 90s, the French Ministry of Culture wishes to assess how France is living and commissions Raymond Depardon to travel the countryside. Four other photographers are in charge of the "banlieues sensibles", or the outskirts of the big cities, areas that are (supposed to be) difficult places to live in, and where criminality rates are higher than the average. To Gilles Favier, who is then living in Paris, is assigned Marseilles. He rents a place in La Renaude, an enclave north of the city that is divided in two. Above, the social housing projects, where the families orginating from Maghreb live. Below, concrete cubes when the gypsy community lives.

The photographer Gilles Favier ended up staying a year and a half, making a really strong black & white reportage in 6x6 format that remains - 25 years later - an invaluable testimony of the history of the inhabitants of La Renaude, and more generally of that of the quartiers nords - the northern neighborhoods - of Marseilles.

To reflect on this corpus of images, Philippe Pujol's writing (who was awarded the Prix Albert Londres in 2014, one of the French's most important award in journalism) was an obvious choice. Basing his work on testimonies by people Gilles Favier had photographed 25 years before that he had found again, he questions the what is at stake in the neighbohood in the traditionnal form of litterary journalism."

Texts in French only.

112 pages - Hardcover

Le bec en l'air, 2016

Format : 20 x 26 cm

New - Mint condition