These guys had the added effect of smoke thanks to a fireman in their midst carrying distress flares. A street like this one (Avenue de la Republique) is normally a battleground of cars and trucks, so the march was as much a reclaiming of the pedestrian city and a reminder that the machines that facilitate us also control and restrict us.
Finally arriving up on the hill of the railway station then, was a beautiful unrestricted view given a surreal edge by the absence of striking workers. The giant steps overlooking the city, nestled into this big dry valley, were largely my own, shared only with a few tourists and a small possie of local young guys ready to exchange illicit substances for cash.
The areas surrounding railway stations have a special kind of energy, highly charged and uncertain of ownership. It's not only that there are so many people pass through these spaces (since you could say the same of a commercial mall or street) it's the way they connect with the rest of the city. A railway station connects like a major artery to other transient spaces, so it becomes defined by passing through it rather than the place itself. How many alleyways or closed alcoves have I visited recently that carry the pungent aroma of urine? They are marked by the people who pass through them as belonging to nobody, assuring that they are never a destination but rather a place to get through as fast as you can.
The Marseille central station has a peculiarity though in that it has this beautiful view, in any other situation it would mark a place to sit and reflect, or to locate a significant monument. In fact there are two large statues either side of these steps that I am told (retrospectively) represent the colonies of France and their productive abundance (interesting I guess that this is where you can go to buy drugs from jumpy looking guys with flashy tracksuits).
You can just see one of the statues here on the right.
The first time I came to europe as a 20year old in the late 1980s, almost every railway station felt very intimidating. Perhaps it was accentuated by being a bit naive, but I would always rush through a railway station, pack on my back, as fast as I could. They have almost all changed now through the encroachment of commerce, it's hard to find a railway station anymore without a Macdonalds or several bookstores and a mobile phone shop. They have brought with them a sense of purpose and certainty of action. But they have also brought security guards, cleaners and and a sharp definition between what is private and public space.
The late afternoon sun brought with it some office workers on their way home or at least on their way to being on their way home. Here's someone I had a great chat to, we shared conversation and perspectives on the places around us, she'd spent all day staring at a computer screen so there was a sudden shift of focus to be lying on the ground. So many of us (me included of course) spend so much of our time transmitting information to or from the computer screen, it's a welcome change to be altered by scale for a moment, to put your hand, your face or your eyes through the screen and discover what is on the other side.
And this is Lena, she rolled around, she drew pictures, she chatted, she showed off her dance moves. I enjoyed her company. This picture was taken just before she threw her chin onto the hard ground and was rewarded with a sore-looking red graze.
A day of overviews. The tree lined boulevards of Marseille at my doorstep. The fine things are right here.
