‘La Marseillaise’ which you’ve probably seen being built as you drive in from Aix, finally opened yesterday. It’s 135 metres high and is next to the CMA CGM Tower. Two more are planned in this new business sector development by the docks.
Organisations like Haribo, Orange and Sodexo are moving in, alongside the Metropole Aix-Marseille-Provence who are taking 12 floors. It is topped off by roof gardens offering 360 views across Marseille for the lucky few.
The architect Jean Nouvel says he chose red, white and blue to echo the French flag, but his local rationale is this:
- Le Bleu évoque bien évidemment le ciel et la mer, mais aussi les couleurs du club de foot, l’Olympique de Marseille
- Le Blanc rappelle quand à lui les nuages qui parfois traverse le ciel marseillais et surtout les roches des Calanques
- Enfin, le Rouge symbolise le toitures marseillais, et la couleur brique des tuiles qui dessinent le paysage de la ville.
I’m not sure what the locals think of it but I feel sad to see skyscrapers in such a special city. They feel to me to be out of proportion with the urban landscape and diminish the focus on Notre Dame de la Garde, the historical view-point of Marseille….which does after all provide a superb 360 view for everyone.
Meanwhile in London yesterday, towers were in the news too as a 56 year-old Frenchman Alain Robert climbed the 
Heron Tower, the tallest in the City, without ropes or safety equipment. Crowds gathered to watch the ascent of the 230m building which took an hour….his pauses to wave were met with cheers.
He said: ‘I feel fully alive when my life is at stake…There has been 44 years in which I have been climbing. This is what I know as a way of living and expressing myself and living my dreams, my passion and living my life as fully as I can.’
The police weren’t having any of this and arrested him for causing a public nuisance.
aixcentric 
I would love to see a picture of the Cours after the loss of the plane trees. We have many pictures of those beautiful trees and can’t imagine the city without them!
Hello, the cours has a different feel to it – lighter and more airy. The good news is that all the new trees bar one seem to have taken. I’m getting used to it!