M comme...

Pavillon M (pavilion M) is the name of a new exhibition space built in Marseille for its designation as the 2013 European Capital of Culture.  According to the pavilion brochure, some of the things to know and see about Marseille and the exhibits in the hall also begin with the letter M.  M comme (M, as in,)...

• 7 Marvels of Marseille: culture, patrimony, knowledge, art of living, the sporting life, territorial assets, the Marseillians themselves,
• the Modern style of architecture of the exhibition hall, 
• Multimedia features that tell visitors about the city (the hall features art in multiple forms, archeological artifacts, and numerous audio-visual clips shown on screens throughout, with somewhat jumpy and occasionally repetitive footage, and inexplicably small viewing rooms for 3-D and other images--just 15 and 30 person capacities--how will they accommodate the crowds this summer?), 
• Metamorphosis that represents the dynamism of a territory that is always changing or moving (is this a euphemism for 'we are not quite done with all of the construction yet for the year, but we will be soon'?  See my post from Jan. 8, 2013: Faire le ménage) , 
• Monumental, as in the size of the building and the escalating walkway beside it, 
• Marseille-Provence 2013 which is the official name of this year's European Capital of Culture program,
• and the Mediterranean sea, a view of which can be seen from the upper terrace of the pavilion.  

It is from this terrace that I began realizing a few more additions to the M list above, for what else did we feel and see and hear in Marseille on this late Saturday afternoon in early February?  An ever-stronger Mistral wind kicking up, a few thousand people gathering for an anti-gay marriage Manifestation (demonstration) called Manif pour tous ('demo' for all), and the echoes of magnified voices speaking out against the mandate for gay marriage, an important measure for which had just been passed through the National Assembly the same afternoon.

Now it made sense why we had seen clusters of French riot police along the streets with odd shoulder pads on top of their uniforms (a bit like those worn by American football players); they had been preparing for potentially violent protests.  As it turned out, the greater danger to all was from the wind.  We later discovered that the French weather service had issued a Vigilance Orange (orange alert) for Marseille and its environs due to increasingly strong wind gusts, one of which was recorded at 130 km/h in the late afternoon near our attempted route* towards the commercial port area to view other Culture Capital exhibitions (as reported in "Un vent à ..." La Provence, 3.2.2013).  The Mistral rattled and loosened temporary fencing as we passed by, it set off an alarm on a construction crane, it threw one of my sons to the ground, and I was pushed violently into a metal stanchion and against a concrete block.  If not as dramatically, certainly more metaphorically, that fierce wind also threatened to carry off the pink and blue protest flags of the anti-gay marriage demonstrators.  Their traditional views on marriage may still be audible and visible for now, but social change is in the wind.  In the long run, or more likely in the shorter run, perhaps even in this same year as Marseille's culture party, the French presidential mandate on behalf of gay marriage will succeed, thanks to the support from a growing majority of the French public and the inevitable responses by those in the French parliament.  So, M is also for Mariage pour tous (marriage for all), and it is coming, to Marseille, and to the rest of France.

*See http://aixcentric.com/2013/01/23/marseille-marvellous-progress/ for a very do-able itinerary for a single day visit to Marseille. 

Faire le ménage

One of my favorite parts of the new year are the cleaning up and packing away of the holiday decorations, the sweeping of the Christmas tree needles and dust bunnies, and the rearranging of furniture. It feels good, to faire le ménage et ranger (to tidy up well, or do housework, and to organize one's spaces). I always marvel at how spare the living room can look after just a few weeks of being festooned in ornaments, holiday runners, and lights and a tree.

Aix and the surrounding communities are all doing their part to spruce up for 2013.  The Aixois have been cleaning house by discarding their trees on street corners (for the daily garbage pick-up) or at disposal stations around town, trailing white flocking and needles. (The French tend to use simple tree stands without water wells so the trees are dry, dry, dry by the time the holiday has passed.  In contrast, this year we bought a living Christmas tree which survived the holiday intact and has found a home in my friend's jardin.)

As some trees lose their ornaments, others are being gussied up.  This week, the majestic plane trees along Aix's Cours Mirabeau are getting a new look.  (These trees have many functions: they provide shade during the hot summer, roosts for the loud city birds, and bases for the strands and strands of holiday lights in December.)  To mark l'ouverture (the opening or beginning) of Marseille's turn as La capitale Européenne de la culture (the European capital of culture), nearby towns and communities are cleaning up and will open art trails this weekend (apparently it's a regional affair despite Marseille getting the designation), so les arbres (the trees) on the boulevard are getting bright wraps as part of an art installation by renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.  The red and white polka dots combined with Aix's customary yellow and red striped banners create quite a fun, fantastical, Dr. Seussian look.

Perhaps that look is emblematic of the festivities ahead of us, whimsical but a bit nonsensical too.  We are not clear on what to expect with this 'year of culture', as it seems that Marseille is not yet finished with its housework and thus is not quite ready for its festivities.  Several museums remain unfinished or closed, le vieux port (the old harbor) has only just had its fences taken down, and the Marseille-Provence 2013 agenda I have only goes through March.  Furthermore, as a friend and I agreed over lunch today, the language used to describe the events is vague at best, suggesting that everything isn't planned out fully yet.  It's a bit astonishing given that Marseille has been preparing for this year for some time.  On the other hand, Marseille is not a tidy city that is bien rangé (orderly) under normal circumstances, and life in France in general is not a life of tight and detailed schedules.  In our daily lives here, we are often winging each day and week, as school or sports or civic events crop up or get canceled just like that, and rarely well in advance, and shops and restaurants or services are closed (or opened) without notice.  It's easy to get frustrated with this seeming lack of order.  I have discovered though that I am generally calmer if I just accept the laid-back mode of living and scheduling (and I recognize that I have the privilege of being flexible).  In a way, it's like Dr. Seuss again, if you go with the flow, "Oh! The places you'll go!"  I wonder where Marseille-Provence 2013 will take us?