While strolling through the streets of Marseille, a journalist noticed the absence of typical tourist t-shirts with messages like «I Love Tits», so common in La Rambla or El Raval in Barcelona. This observation sparked a reflection on tourism management and gentrification in both Mediterranean cities.
The Le Panier neighborhood in Marseille, known for its past linked to the heroin mafia and now revitalized, offers visitors petanque museums, craft shops, and traditional soap stores, instead of mass-produced tourist items. This reality contrasts with the perception of Barcelona, where tourism seems to have profoundly transformed the urban fabric.
Marseille is a visited city, but not taken or conquered (and therefore, not ravaged).
The author highlights that Marseille, despite being one of the largest cruise ports in the Mediterranean with a million cruise passengers annually, seems to have maintained a more authentic identity. The French city, for example, values artistic graffiti as a form of expression and inclusion, reminiscent of Barcelona's El Raval about 25 years ago. Furthermore, local gastronomy offers dishes like mussels with fries or quality burgers, moving away from the «inedible paella stew» often found in tourist areas.
The unsuccessful search for the «I Love Tits» t-shirt leads the journalist to discover the Marseillais' passion for petanque and the care with which residents adorn their streets with flowers, respected by tourists. This observation prompts him to pose a rhetorical question to Barcelona: «Barcelone, tu tires ou tu pointes?», referring to the petanque playing strategy, which can be interpreted as a question about whether the city acts aggressively or prudently in managing its future.
