Mazargues () is a former village and now a neighbourhood of the 9th arrondissement in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

Françoise-Marguerite de Sévigné Françoise-Marguerite de Sévigné, comtesse de Grignan (10 October 1646 – 13 August 1705), was a French aristocrat, remembered for the letters that her mother, Madame de Sévigné, wrote to her. Life Françoise-Marguerite was born in Paris, ...

(1646–1705), a French aristocrat, had a

bastide Bastides are fortified new towns built in medieval Languedoc, Gascony, Aquitaine, England and Wales during the 13th and 14th centuries, although some authorities count Mont-de-Marsan and Montauban, which was founded in 1144, as the first bastides ...

in Mazargues. On February 5, 1703, in a letter to Mrs de Coulanges, he described it in those terms: "You only see people who live until a hundred years old; there are no illnesses; the good air and good water make it the realm of health and beauty. In this area, you only see pretty faces, only good-looking men, and old people just, like young people, have the most beautiful teeth in the world. If ever there are people who come close to those of

Telemachus In Greek mythology, Telemachus ( ; ) is the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who are central characters in Homer's ''Odyssey''. When Telemachus reached manhood, he visited Pylos and Sparta in search of his wandering father. On his return to Ithaca, ...

, it is those of Mazargues." According to historian Alfred Saurel (1827-1887), the Château de Mazargues, located on the corner of Chemin du Lancier and Chemin de Mazargues, was burned down during the French Revolution of 1789.

Main sights

The

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

was originally built on the Place Castellane in 1811 in honour of

Napoleon II Napoleon II (Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte; 20 March 181122 July 1832) was the disputed Emperor of the French for a few weeks in 1815. He was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Marie Louise, d ...

(1811-1832). It was moved to the roundabout in Mazargues in 1911. It is home to the Église Saint Roch, a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church named for

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79; traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327), also called Rock in English, was a Majorcan Catholic confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he was especially invo ...

. It is also home to the Mazargues Commonwealth War Cemetery, which includes 1,487 burials of casualties from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and 267 burials of casualties from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Mazargues War Cemetery
/ref> The main street, Rue Émile-Zola, is named in honour of writer

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...

(1840-1902). Another street, Rue Henri Revoil, is named for architect

Henri Révoil Henri Révoil (1822–1900) was a 19th-century French architect. Biography Early life Henri Révoil was born in 1822 in Aix-en-Provence. His father was the painter Pierre Révoil. Career From 1855 to 1860, he designed the facade of the Églis ...

(1822-1900), son of painter

Pierre Révoil Pierre Henri Révoil (12 June 1776 – 19 March 1842) was a French painter in the troubadour style. Biography He was born in Lyon. His father was a furrier. Although he was needed at home, his family allowed him to receive a proper education. ...

(1776-1842). Rue Raymond Cayol is named for Raymond Cayol (1917-1997), who served as a member of the French

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

for the

from 1946 to 1951. As for the Avenue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, where the obelisk meets, it is named for Marshall

Jean de Lattre de Tassigny Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French ''général d'armée'' during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1952. ...

(1889-1952), who served in World War II and the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...

. Moreover, Rue Henri Tomasi is named in honour of

Henri Tomasi Henri Frédien Tomasi (; 17 August 1901 – 13 January 1971) was a French classical composer and conductor. He was noted for compositions such as ''In Praise of Folly'', ''Nuclear Era'' and ''The Silence of the Sea''. Early years Henri Tomasi ...

(1901–1971), a French classical composer and conductor born in Marseille.

Notable residents

Jean-Claude Gaudin Jean-Claude Gaudin (; 8 October 1939 – 20 May 2024) was a French politician for The Republicans. He served as the Mayor of Marseille from 1995 to 2020. Gaudin was a member of the National Assembly of France from Bouches-du-Rhône from 1978 ...

, who has served as the mayor of Marseille since 1995, was born and grew up in Mazargues.Ariane Chemin, Gilles Rof
A Marseille, l'ogre Gaudin
''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'', 28.09.2013

Bibliography

*Abbé Marius Ganay, ''La poétique histoire de Mazargues'' (Marseille: Société nationale des entreprises de presse, 1947). *Elie Boissin, ''Le Minot de Mazargues'' (Paul Keruel/Vauvenargues éditions). *Elie Boissin, ''Mystères et Histoires des Calanques'' (éditions Terradou). *Evelyne Lyon-Lavaggi, ''Mazargues, près des calanques'' (illustrated by J.-P. Lyon, éditions Alan Sutton, 2007). *Evelyne Lyon-Lavaggi, ''Dis Papet, raconte-nous Mazargues'' (illustrated by J.-P. Lyon, éditions Alan Sutton, 2008). *Evelyne Lyon-Lavaggi, ''Mazargues ses fourneaux d'Antan'' (illustrated by J.-P. Lyon, éditions Alan Sutton, 2009). *Raymond Cresp et Evelyne Lyon-Lavaggi, ''Mazargues et ses Calanques'' (Collection Mémoire en Images, éditions Alan Sutton, 2009).

References

External links