• On April 9, the collapse of several buildings rue de Tivoli in Marseille caused the death of eight people, and had caused the hasty evacuation of 300 residents.
  • On Friday, 138 people were allowed to return to their homes.
  • A return to the fold under the sign of relief, but also, again, the mourning of having lost neighbors in this collapse

A car drives slowly rue Jaubert, under the spring sun that hits the yellow facades. It runs along the small artery of Marseille, arrives at the intersection of the rue de Tivoli, where excavators are still active, tirelessly, on the last debris. The car continues its momentum, as if nothing had happened. It then passes under Paul's eyes, at pace. The old man freezes, and stares at this usually banal scene, which has become extraordinary this Friday morning. Paul has lived on this street, in the heart of the Camas district, for nearly fifty years. "It's been a long time since we've seen a car here," he says.



It had been exactly nineteen days. On April 9, part of the Camas district was emptied of all forms of life. That day, the collapse of several buildings following an explosion killed eight Marseillais, and led to the emergency evacuation of 43 buildings. Paul is one of the few neighbors who has been able to stay on site, living until now in a ghost neighborhood, where firefighters, experts, local elected officials and journalists had replaced the inhabitants of these usually peaceful streets.

"Part of the life of the neighborhood resumes"

Nineteen days later, the journalists are still there, the firefighters too, the local elected officials too. But something has changed. "Today, part of the life of the neighborhood resumes," says Mayor Benoît Payan. In a press release sent Thursday evening, the city of Marseille announced the return of 72 households, or 138 people, in 19 buildings of rue Jaubert and rue Abbé-de-l'Epée, two streets perpendicular to rue de Tivoli, as of Friday at 9 am, experts having ruled out any vital danger in these buildings.

The news spread like wildfire among the dislodged. A large suitcase in hand, Nicolas approaches Dylan, one of the firefighters dispatched to the scene. "Hello! I live in this building on the first floor. Dylan accompanies Nicolas to his apartment. "We are here to ensure their safety and also provide them with psychological support: people are now very apprehensive about gas," explains the firefighter in the stairwell. Arrived on his porch, his suitcase in hand, Nicolas does not hide his impatience. The young man was in the middle of a move when the tragedy occurred. He stopped everything, in haste, and will finally be able to recover his last furniture. "The truck arrives around 10 a.m.," he told the firefighter.

"It's hard"

At the appointed time, a van parks rue Jaubert, and passes Georges who leaves his apartment, in a neighboring building. On the crane foot from 8:30 am to be among the first to return to his cozy nest, Georges comes out relieved, after having carefully inspected every nook and cranny, looking for any anomaly caused by the blast of the explosion. "Everything is good," whispers the old man who has lived in the neighborhood for fifty years. There was even still the Easter table set, with cutlery and plates! »

A neighbor sees him in the distance, and falls into his arms, tears in her eyes. "Mr. George! I missed you. It makes me one of those effects to come back... "How are you?" the old man replied with a mischievous smile. It seems that you live in a beautiful apartment, a palace of 250 m²! "It's hard," she whispers. I think of my friends who left, and whom I knew well. »

A few meters away, in this ballet as calm as disconcerting suitcases and bags, another dislodged puts the key in the lock of his building, under the eye of the cameras. "It's a very strange feeling to be able to go home when there have been deaths 50 meters away," he says, "I will be able to resume my life as before. What do you want to do... In the distance, Georges slowly resumes his habits, and goes shopping, on the Canebière. Just like before. Almost. In the back of his mind, he is still thinking about that night. "The shock, the noise, the deaths. You know, it was people we saw every day, walking past my house. George whispers. "The main thing is that we are alive."

Still 24 buildings under surveillance

Hundreds of Marseillais living near 17 rue de Tivoli remain dislodged, waiting for the conclusions of the expertise on their buildings. "The analyses of the common areas have all been done, details the deputy mayor of Marseille in charge of security Yannick Ohanessian. And now, at the slightest doubt, we will carry out additional studies in the private portions with the permission of the owners. Studies that may take a time that the elected official says he does not know.


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