00:08 It’s Saturday afternoon at the town hall 00:15 The bride and groom are of Algerian origin. They are married by one of the city’s vice mayors. Nassurdine Haidari comes from the former French state of the Comoros islands 00:40 It’s a typical wedding in the southern French port city of Marseille. 00:49 Insert: Nassurdine Haidari, soz City Council 00:54 The two people who have just got married come from a large Algerian town, and are now here in Marseille for family reasons. People come here to settle and build a future, I am pleased to have done this ceremony, it’s a way of celebrating Marseille. 01:21 Marseille is the second largest city in France. For decades it has been the symbol of togetherness. 01:28 But nowadays it’s drug trafficking and gang wars that make the headlines. 01:31 Marseille is a gateway to the Mediterranean and has one of the largest Muslim communities in the country. 01:45 Not far from the port is the oldest brasserie in the city. 01:55 For 9 years this traditional enterprise has belonged to Frederic Jeanjean who is also the President of a government-backed small business association. Like many residents of Marseille he’s convinced that President Sarkozy is right to put issues of security and crime at the centre of his campaign. This is certainly his view as a resident of Marseille 2:20 Insert: Frederic Jeanjean, restaurant owners 02:24 This is relatively new problem for Marseille - over the last few years armed robberies and thefts have exploded in the city 02:39 We are trying to organize and the mentality is changing – bystanders used to just watch when someone was being robbed. In the last year and a half people have begun to react and to pursue the thieves themselves. 02:55 If guns are in play things are somewhat different because there is an element of surprise; everything goes very quickly. In this case it is better to let the police to do their work. 03:08 It’s happened very quickly, mobile phone or bag thefts no longer make the headlines. Most of the time the offenders are very young - more than 30% are minors – they go after jewellery - chains are torn from women’s necks. The rising price of gold is to blame for this development. This jeweller in the city center is another member of the association. He has firsthand experience to show that this is about more than just statistics. 3:39 Insert: Alain R., jeweler 03:41 We were attacked in November and if there are weapons involved no one responds. It was broad daylight but people are afraid and do not even dare to call the police, they know that they cant do anything to help. 04:03 You feel attacked on a personal level. It’s very difficult for people who are affected. I think things will need to change a lot in Marseille and everywhere else in France where there’s a large population. 04:17 We accompany a team of mediators to the city centre – with their presence the social workers aim to provide business people with a sense of security. It seems to work, at least a little. 4:30 OT AIDA social worker How are you today? 4:33 OT Maurice Hawker Very well 4:34 OT AIDA social worker No problems today? 4:36 OT Maurice Hawker No, since you are there 4:38 OT AIDA social worker Since we are here? That’s good, it has to keep going 4:41 OT Maurice It is much better OT AIDA 04:49 We want to ask you about not standing in the doorway as residents have complained OT CAMEL We could say the same, "screw you". OT AIDA 05:07 No, that's not our style… thanks 5:11 The mission of the mediators is conflict prevention. It’s a drop in the ocean but better than nothing. The socialist city council is becoming big on the street. Nassurdine Haidari knows and understands the problems of the youth better than many others. 05:31 Insert: Nassurdine Haidari, soz City Council 05:35 The young people are losing the ground under their feet; we are creating a city in which the proportion of those who leave school is one of the lowest in the whole of France. 5:47, Here in the city centre, the biggest obstacle to finding a job is illiteracy. 06:00 On the outskirts, in Northern Marseille is where you find immigrant ghettos. Nassurdine, who for many years served as an imam, is no stranger to this area 06:11 Without someone like Nassurdine, it can be very dangerous here. Cameras crews are usually only here when gang violence, drugs and guns provide unwanted headlines. 6:21 Insert: Nassurdine Haidari, soz City Council 6:23 We can stay here, it’s quiet… 6:32: This is an outdoor living room – the sofa is here for meetings that take place particularly in the evenings. It’s for the so-called watchdogs who monitor everything. The quarter is organized around drug trafficking, which cannot be tolerated. 6:48 OT The young people on mopeds, these are the watchdogs? OT NASSURDINE Haidari 06:54 They wanted to see if we are here to film the dealer, but that’s not why we’re here anyway. 7:05 At night very few venture into these settlements. Former police officer Gilles Tachon has worked here for 25 years. 7:14 Insert: Gilles Tachon, former policeman 7:16 Look, there are the watchdogs on their motorbikes to report any abnormal vehicle or every police patrol car 7:32 Here we must be very careful now, because from here we enter enemy territory. 07:36 Also in the doorways are the watchdogs, who earn 200 euros per day from guarding drug deals, also protecting them from outside gangs - the gang wars have already claimed 6 lives this year. A car without light takes up the chase, - as we leave the quarter it backs off. 07:56: Gilles Tachon, former policeman 7:58 Everyone here does what he wants, when he wants and if anyone does not agree it is regulated with Kalaschnikhovs. 8:06 Here for a few hundred euros you can get assault rifles from Eastern European stocks. 8:13 Insert: Alphonse Giovannini, police union representatives 08:15 This whole criminal milieu has easy access to guns and may soon be raiding a small businesses like bakeries with automatic weapons 08:30 The interior minister has come to Marseilles in order to reassure businessmen and announce an increase in police numbers. The drastic cuts of the previous years are to be forgotten - it’s now the election campaign and there are lots of promises. The owner of a bistro which sells tobacco products reports that he’s been attacked 4 times already and his mother is afraid to go home with cash. 8:55 Insert: Claude Guéant, French interior minister 8:57 If your mother goes home and there a police officer near her she is certainly more calmer that if no one is there - we know how difficult these situations are for business. 09:09 A sense of security in everyday life is what concerns people in Marseilles. The statistics are proof of this. 09:16 The interior minister is feeling a bit alone - the police union can also speak about the statistics. 09:23: Insert: ALPHONSE GIOVANNINI police union 09:24 We have 10,000 less police officers because those who have retired cant be replaced. Add to that the problem that Marseille is a relatively young city with a growing population. So on the one hand we have more and more young people and on the other, our police academies have closed and there are fewer police officers. 09:56 But are more police the only answer to the problems of young people? We go to the artists' quarter "La Friche de la Belle de Mai" which is a popular meeting place for young people. "Papet Jali" is one of the lead vocalists in the cult band ‘Massilia Sound System’ from Marseille. Papet Jali is rehearsing with artists from around world in preparation for 2013 when Marseille will be the European Capital of Culture. For people like Papet Jali the image of the multicultural city has deep fissures. 10:31 Insert: Papet Jali, musician and vocalist 10:35 These young people from immigrant backgrounds -I'm tired of hearing that they are young Frenchmen - they have often completed 5 years of studies. They come from Italian or Spanish or Algerian population groups who have been here for 80 years or 50 years or less. It doesn’t matter, they all have the same problems - they have no future. 10:58 With his music "Papet Jali" a spokesperson for generations of young people, he speaks out about the government and particularly about President Sarkozy. 11:07: Insert: Papet Jali, musician and vocalist 11:11 He never speaks of the really big criminals behind the banks, behind the people with a supposedly clean Western image. He never speaks of them...they are too big. 11:28 Instead he prefers to criminalise 14-year-old kids that are attracted by easy money and can one honestly blame them? 11:46 In spite of Marseille’s postcard idyll, a small boat trip with one of the local fishermen shows how the town has changed for the worse. 11:56 Insert: ERIC FROMION, Fisher Marseille is inconceivable without its fishermen, but there will be less and less in the coming years. 10 years ago there were 90 of us, today we are just 40 12:14 Paris is too far away, to get heard up there is impossible. 12:19 Insert: ERIC FROMION, Fisher 12:22 Have a look at my fishing boat, it is 40 years old. If I go up to Paris and talk to the director in the Ministry of Fisheries I am very small, even though I represent 30 boats. 12:39 Eric wants to continue fishing with his boat. Because his father built it, he will never sell it, that much is clear. Eric and his colleagues are still able to make a living from the sea in spite of everything. Life is hard but they can still survive. 13:00 Unfortunately this is no longer the case for other residents of the city 13:04 The social organisation: "Restaurants of the Heart" is located in the 15th district. Henri Guillemot has been at the centre of the organization for the last 10 years as its regional director. 13:23 Insert: Henri Guillemot, regional director of organization 13:26 We get young single parents, women with 2, 3 or 4 children. In some of our centres, more than 50% are retirees, whose situation will not improve. They come to us towards the end of their life because their pensions are becoming less and less. They need us today, but they will also need us in 3, 4 or 5 years. 13:57 Every Sunday evening, Henri goes with volunteers of the organization in a minibus to meet the poorest of the poor. 14:07 Insert: Marianne freiw. Helferin 14:10 The baker has just given us a pizza. We will give them to the shelter – I’ll put it in some smaller bags. 14:22 A slice of pizza is a luxury for many that have come here. More and more women are living below the poverty line. Nathalie is one of the regular customers of the "Restaurant of the heart" and comes every week to meet the bus. For those who want it, there is something to eat, and coffee or tea. Sometimes there are warm clothes or a raincoat. 14:59 Insert: Henri Guillemot, Regional Director, NGO 15:04 The question we want to ask all presidential candidates is what they intend to do about the precarious situation of the people, especially with regards to the housing shortage and the situation with the labour market because we have people who work but still have no home because their income is not enough to allow them to live and eat at the same time. . 15:29 But these issues will only play a minor role in the presidential election campaign because the very next morning, everything is different. 15:41 A series of murders has sent shockwaves across France: In Toulouse, 3 soldiers are killed, followed by the cold blooded murder of three students and a teacher in a Jewish school. At the "Brasserie of the Knights Templar" young Sarkozy supporters discuss the Presidential campaign. But there is only one thing on everybody’s mind. 16:01 Insert: Frederic Jeanjean, restaurant owners 16:04 Will this affect the election? It has already. It proves that there are moments when politicians and political parties, regardless of which side they are on, stop to reflect, and show that there are things for which we will never compromise. 16:20 But national unity is crumbling. Many assume that the murders have racist motives. President Sarkozy is accused of having prepared the ground for these assumptions with his policies and his rhetoric. 16:34 Insert: Benjamin C., a student representative UMP 16:37 On Twitter, there has been an incredible wave of hate. People have accused Sarkozy of being responsible and blamed the party for the murders. The Socialist Youth has blamed us and some have insulted us anonymously on Twitter - that's totally ridiculous, there is no relationship between the president's policies and the killings that have happened. These murders are a single act of a madman. 17:04 The next day the killer's identity is known: a 23-year-old Frenchman, Mohamed Merha, is said to have killed in the name of Islam. During the police operation, he is killed after a wild shootout with the anti-terrorist units. 17: 22 The case has made huge shockwaves through France, particularly in the Muslim community, which fears being associated with the killings – or worse to be considered responsible for them. In an Islamic bookstore just outside the city center, we meet Ahmed Guessoum, a senior representative of the Muslim town of Marseilles. 17:42 Insert: Ahmed Guessoum, Moslemrat 17:47 These dramatic events have deeply shaken the Muslim community in Marseilles. Especially, of course, because that person has supposedly committed these unspeakable acts in the name of Islam. Muslims are very shocked and they are deeply concerned that all this leads to an even greater stigmatisation of the religious community. 18:13 But why is there a greater stigma in Marseille? 18:18 Ahmed Guessoum OT 18:20 In Marseilles there has been an increasing stigma for weeks and months, especially with the recent branding of Muslims by politicians. The finger has been pointed at the Muslim community despite the fact that they just want to live in peace with everyone else. 18:53 On the first floor of an old factory building, is the "Islah mosque Islamique". 19:04 For women, entry into the prayer room is only granted if a long black robe is worn with a headscarf. Normally, only men are allowed but hardly anyone takes any notice. The imam has allowed a camera crew here and his word is not questioned. The presence of a women and a camera crew doesn’t seem to change anything, including the prayer. 19:43 After the prayer, there are snatches of conversation as men chat quietly with each other. These days they only have one concern - that they will find it even more difficult after the attacks to be seen as a Frenchman, and not as a potential threat. 19:56 OT Mohamed mosque attendant 19:57 Islam is a religion of tolerance. Unfortunately, some use it as a pretext to commit acts of terrorism 20:08 Mohamed cares has cared for the mosque since 1989. He is something of a caretaker here and shows some of the other prayer rooms. Despite not wanting to give an interview he feels the need to put things right. 20:22 OT Mohamed mosque attendant 20:26 We have a good preacher here. He speaks French and Arabic. Last Friday, he spoke in his homily about the unfortunate events in Toulouse. They were condemned unanimously What did he say? OT MOHAMED He condemned the attacks and that you cannot kill in the name of Islam. Islam is a religion of tolerance. Soon after the incident Muslims were arrested in several cities across France - even here in Marseilles - and it is no coincidence that there are always television cameras present. That there is no case against the people being arrested and they must soon be released again, is just accepted. Now, during the election campaign, it is more important to demonstrate to the media that these kind of incidents will be cracked down upon. Nassurdine Haidari knows the neighbourhood in which the arrests have been taking place very well. A look at the housing here is enough to understand why she says that the Republic has abandoned her children. 21:22 OT NASSURDINE Haidari We must stop this kind of political action - it brings nothing. We need solutions to the problems of the people here. How high is unemployment in Marseille? OT NASSURDINE Haidari It’s 30% among teenagers maybe even 40. For decades, Marseille was proud to be melting pot of different cultures. In the city centre, diversity is more than just a slogan. A third of the 850,000 inhabitants of the town are Muslims. But the events of recent years have taken their toll. The reliougious-sociologist and scientist Francoise Lorcerie draws comparisons between today’s events and the situation for Muslims after 9/11. Like this previous scenario, there have been blanket condemnations and overreaction on the part of politicians. 22:26 Insert: Francoise Lorcerie, sociologist When there is a terrorist act the finger is immediately pointed at Muslims and calls are made for immigration to be tightened. It is also demanded that sermons at Mosques on Fridays have to be conducted in French. They announce these things each time something happens, and they end up condemning a group of people who have nothing to do with extremism. The presidential campaign is no exception. Insert: Francoise Lorcerie, sociologist In our presidential election campaign there was a veritable delirium surrounding the meat issue that was quite surprising. The slaughtering of meat according to Islamic rites, became an extremely important issue in France and all the candidates talked about it. This is the oldest halal restaurant in Marseille. Various socialist dignitaries of the city have come to eat here to protest against the fact that President Sarkozy has begun to question the ritual slaughter of halal and kosher meat as part of his re-election campaign. Nassurdine is also here along with the major representatives of the left opposition. Insert: Sylvie Andrieux, socialist deputies An election campaign doesn't justify one being demagogic or populist. Eventually this helps to divide France by playing people off against each other. I believe the election campaign should be more focused on the balance sheet and the failures of president Sarkozy and should not weaken the Republican values. Nickolas Sarkozy stretches the values of the Republic in order to score points with voters. It’s no accident that he responds to accusations about dividing the country with the following statement in Marseille: Insert: Nicolas Sarkozy, UMP presidential candidate ”I want to be the candidate of the French people and not the candidate of the elite against the people.” Among Sarkozy’s followers is Benjamin, previously seen in the brasserie of the Knights Templar. He’s a student representative of the ruling UMP party. Insert: Benjamin C., a student representative UMP If the media focus more closely on him than other candidates does it mean that he will be more unpopular or that he has the best odds? OT Emeric example, a student If all goes well then it is not thanks to him, and if everything goes bad and there are 3 consecutive crises then will the president be to blame? Besides, these were crises for which nothing could be done but he was able to improve things. The discussion will continue until late in the evening but only a few young people who really care about the election campaign. To see what young people are really interested in you must be around on one of the evenings when the cult football team Olympique de Marseille are playing, whose matches are broadcast live by the various bistros. The mood is not great after several games have been lost, but in Marseille this does not matter too much. Here, football is about much more than just winning. Insert: Nicolas, computer scientist This is the only wealth that people have. People here have no culture and there is no industry. The people are poor but you go to the stadium to have a little pleasure. But yes it seems a little silly to say this because it is just a sport and not art but it provides happiness and pride. Strong support for Marseille’s team is a source of pride for the city itself - here football shouldn’t to be underestimated as a means of integration. Insert: Stephane, student This is a multicultural city and the team is something we all have in common. 26:26 Another place, another generation, but the same passion. Here it the sport of petanque also brings people together. Here too, the election campaign is very far away. 26:39 Insert: Jean, the elderly Whether it is one or the other - it always stays the same. Time seems to stand still, but the worries are not yet forgotten. Eric the fisherman also comes to watch his friends. 26:53 Insert: Eric Fromion, Fisherman Things used to be different. At the end of the week after I had worked a lot I used to go to a restaurant. This was once a week, now it’s more like once a month, sometimes even less. Nobody has grand illusions here OT ANDRE I don't know because whoever wins, they won't change the country or the world. We won’t suddenly get work overnight. We are just irritated. Only one thing is certain, they will all be here next week for another game of pentague. With Sarkozy and Hollande still battling it out, the impact of the upcoming presidential election is still anyone’s guess.