After Al Dente I came home. Later on, at about 18h I left to take the tram to La Joliette and then the bus. I got on the bus and was waiting for it to leave when I saw the number 35 bus pull into La Joliette. I thought, that's strange, I'm sitting on the number 35, aren't I?! I asked the lady infront of me 'Excusez moi, quel numero est ce bus?' It was the 83, not the 35. Oops, good job I realised or I'd have never made it to L'Estaque and Les Restos du coeur! After a quick change of bus I was on my way. Les Restos du Coeur is a charity which feeds the homeless - les sans abris. It's a bit like a soup kitchen. Every evening there is a bus, called Le Mauraude, which goes around Marseille. One evening it does the north - les quartiers nords, and the next evening it'll do les quartiers suds, and so it alternates like that. It gives a bag of food to the sans abris - those that want it. In the bag is a small small slice of emmantal, a tiny tiny chocolate bar, a yoghurt, a small cake. Then they get a baguette, salad thing and either a tin of salmon, tuna, sardines or pate. Boulangeries donate the bread. We went to a boulangerie who gave us three sacks of warm bread. They were really generous. We also had in our van, water, blankets, shoes, socks and sleeping bags for those who asked for them. There was also hot water to make soup, chocolate and coffee. We started out in the 15e arr along La Rue de Lyon and then drove through the 15e arr to the 3e arr - Bougainville, National, Desiree Clary and then to the 2e arr - La Joliette and Le Panier (where I live) and to Vieux Port. It was really really cold and the other volunteers - Kuidot, Nadine and Florence said it had been a quiet night - at the end of the night we'd seen 48 sans abris! That means I'd made in excess of 48 hot chocolates, soups, coffees (some of them had 2 or 3 drinks). We'd met a man who lives in a van. He apparently used to live in a car but someone gave him the van to live in. I asked Nadine why he lived like this and she said that he does small jobs but can't afford to rent anywhere. We met a Spanish speaking Polish man. The sans abris knew when and where Le Maurade would stop and they were waiting for us. Some of them seemed better dressed that others. I think there were les vrais sans abris - people with literally only what they were standing in, and then people who were maybe poor or mal loges. Marseille has the Samu Sociale. It's an organisation that provides overnight accommodation for les sans abris. You can call 115 from any phone, it's a free call, and they will come and fetch you and put you in a foyer for the evening. One man who was sat at a bus stop wrapped in a blanket agreed to us calling 115 so he could go to a foyer. He didn't have any shoes and was shaking he was so cold. We gave him a warm drink and a bag of food. Only 2 or 3 of the 48 people we saw smelt of alcohol/were drunk. The majority were men (I can only remember 2 women). The majority seemed to be from northern african origin. It was a real eye opener to go around Le Panier. There was a man there who we gave a sleeping bag too as well as a bag of food and a hot drink. When we left he said 'merci madmoiselle, merci beaucoup, en tous cas je vous remercie'. He, like the majority of the sans abris we saw that evening, were so grateful, so pleased to see us. I said 'de rien, je vous en prie'. I mean, what's a polystyrene cup of instant hot chocolate?! It made me realise that when I walk home I walk literally a few metres from where these people sleep. I don't know why they're homeless. They must have had family, homes etc at one point. I wonder what happened for them to become sans abris? Marseille may be a candidate for European Capital of Culture 2013, millions of Euros may be being spent in l'amelioration of Marseille's centre, but the sans abris remain. Leave the centre, go away from Le Vieux Port and La Rue de la Republique and what you see doesn't warrant the title 'European Capital of Culture'. There are sans abris in the centre but there 'well hidden', in areas where the tourists won't go. Before Marseille worries about it's next underground carpark of extending it's metro at La Timone maybe a thought should be given to les sans abris.
