• On the night of Saturday to Sunday, an explosion at 17 rue Tivoli in the Camas district of Marseille killed eight people.
  • Among them, Jacky Morand and his companion Anna Sinapi, an octogenarian couple living in the neighborhood for many years.
  • In the heart of a grieving fifth arrondissement, many remember this former butcher and butcher with color.

It's a whole neighborhood that is in mourning. At the corner of Boulevard Eugène Pierre and Rue de Terrusse, in the heart of this 5th arrondissement at half-mast since the night of Saturday to Sunday, many pass in front of L'Artisan du Charolais. It is in this butcher shop that Jacky Morand worked for nearly twenty years. Wednesday at the end of the day, the prosecutor of the republic of Marseille confirmed that the octogenarian and his companion Anna, were among the eight victims found in the rubble of the street of Tivoli. And both, precisely, were real figures of the Camas district.

"We always say it when someone disappears, but really he was a nice gentleman and a lovely couple," says Marie-Christine, a butcher shop employee. Aged 81, Jacky spent two decades behind the trading counter. Retired for nearly twenty years, this octogenarian has not been forgotten by his neighborhood. "Every time he passed the butcher shop, if he didn't come in to get a piece of meat, he would say hello or send us a kiss through the window," she said.

A "figure of the neighborhood"

Upset by the disappearance of the couple, Marie-Christine struggles to hold back her tears in her store. The butcher has long hoped that Jacky and Anna would not be among the victims: "They told me they were going to spend Easter with their grandchildren. Until the end, I thought they weren't in their building at the time of the tragedy."

In the bakery La Paline d'Or, located a stone's throw from the butcher's shop, Michael, his Marseille accent pegged to the body, just learns the news. "But no? But Jacky is a figure of the neighborhood! ", laments the young man. And to add with emotion: "This gentleman was a mocker, a laugher what! ".

He remembers the times when the octogenarian strolled on the boulevard Eugène Pierre, often on the arm of his wife. "They were always two laughing and greeting the neighborhood merchants," he recalls. This story is a tragedy."

"He spoke loudly, he was always in a good mood"

For Marie-Nicole, a customer of the butcher's shop, Jacky was first "her shopkeeper" on the corner of Rue Terrusse and then her neighbour. "This gentleman was the elder of the neighborhood," she says. He spoke loudly, he was always in a good mood, he was a good man."

At the table of the PMU which faces the trade, four retirees retrace the history of these last three days over a coffee. Not everyone knew the name of this "laughing butcher". But everyone remembers it strongly. "He was part of the landscape, everyone in the neighborhood knew this guy," they say in unison.

It's hard to imagine that in France's second largest city, the bonds are so strong, and so are the memories. This is how we understand that the Camas is a neighborhood very rooted in the Marseillais.

OUR FILE ON COLLAPSED BUILDINGS IN MARSEILLE

Marie Nicole, a native of the country, has lived on the block for over forty years. She was not close to Jacky but had a lot of affection for him. Over the years, the man had become a real familiar figure. "Jacky was the real Marseillais," she concludes with emotion.

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