“From my room, I can see the estate but I can’t access it.”
Nathalie Prost, 53, lives on Rue de la Pâpinière right in front of the main entrance to the garden estate located in the heart of the Chutes-Lavie district (4th arrondissement) in Marseille “It was a social housing estate built for workers who worked in the local factories.” In this garden estate, there is a nursery, a kindergarten, a public garden, and a CMA (municipal activity center). Nathalie is the fifth generation of her family to live in the Chutes-Lavie district “When I was little, it looked like a small village in the heart of Marseille.” The garden estate has a particularity “It is made up of small buildings and also small houses that we have always called chalets.“
In 2014, the social landlord put some of the properties in the garden estate up for sale “Many tenants bought these social housing units at low prices and became owners. Over the years, the owners have closed off access “There was a gate that was slightly open, you could always pass through until 2020.” Following a general assembly made up largely of property owners, the decision was made to close the main gate on Rue de la Pâpinière due to security concerns “We are on the other side of the gate, at the border of the third arrondissement, and we have no security problems.” To access nearby shops, Nathalie and other residents can no longer pass through the garden estate, they are forced to take a detour through the dangerous narrow boulevard “There is two-way traffic on the boulevard, which is very narrow.“
“It’s a gate that divides the neighborhood in two.”
To call for the reopening of the garden estate, Nathalie and other residents of the area form the Chutes-Lavie collective “There were 20 of us, now there are 130 people.” In early 2025, the district’s kindergarten announces its closure due to insufficient students “We have come to the conclusion that the closure of the gate was the main reason for the closure of this school.” The atmosphere in the neighborhood has deteriorated “A neighbor nicknamed it the little Berlin Wall.” Nathalie has joined the sector mayor DidierJau’s list, who is part of the left-wing coalition of the Marseille Spring “The fight over the gate has sparked in me this desire to fight for the residents of Marseille.“
“Before it was a village, everyone was together.”
Jean worked as a plumber for 45 years, he is now living at Pâpinière but no longer lives there “When the gate was open, I used to visit my friends or family every other day and sometimes in the evenings.” For Jean, the owners of the garden estate “They thought they were superior and treated others as subordinates.” The closure of the gate significantly affects the mobility of the residents “Closing a gate for elderly people and saying that it’s young people who come to break things, it’s not very nice.“
“I feel like I’m being held hostage in this estate.”
Nadia has been a tenant in the Chutes-Lavie garden estate since 2007 “I used this passage to go to the market, it was really a shortcut.” According to her, behind the closure of the access points, some property owners conceal a deep-seated racism “They want to remain confined in this estate. They don’t want anything that is foreign.” Nadia has joined the Chutes-Lavie collective, which advocates for the reopening of the gate.
“In Marseille, more than 30% of condominiums are closed. Why not us?”
Lucien Fayolle, 67, has been retired for 2 years. For about thirty years, he has owned a small house in a hamlet in the garden estate “It’s not a neighborhood where you find the ultra-rich, it’s more of a working-class population.” According to Lucien, it is the homeowner residents who themselves ensure the maintenance and security of the garden estate “The roads, sidewalks, lighting, trimmed trees, who pays? It’s us.“
Lucien says he is the spokesperson for the pro-gate group “I was called Mr. No Figure. It’s a provincial saying.” During the 2026 municipal elections, the issue of the gate was at the center of the debates “There was a protest against gates supported by the sector mayor.“
Thanks to Apolline, Nathalie, Jean, Nadia, Danielle and the residents of the Chutes-Lavie district in Marseille, Mourad, Lucin Fayolle, Camille, and the residents of La Parade, and to Xavier Friolet.
- Reportage: Clément Baudet
- Réalisation: Anne-Laure Chanel & Peire Legras & Eric Lancien
For further reading:
- Article Le Monde, “Marseille: how private residences have invaded the city?” – Fanny Zarifi, September 17, 2023
- Article Télérama, “Marseille, capital of closed residences?” – Michel Henry, April 29, 2021
- Article France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, “Controversy: “Before in the neighborhood, we were all together”, a gate separates and divides the residents” – Claire Pain and Estelle Mathieu, October 17, 2025
- Article La Provence, “Marseille: at Chutes-Lavie, the gate of discord leads to the closure of the school” – Théo Bessar, July 3, 2025
- Article France Bleu Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, “A gate divides the residents of the Chutes-Lavie district in Marseille” – Laurent Grolèe, October 10, 2025
