In Marseille, the new curtains of newsstands
ReportingFlowers, jewellery, coffee… In Marseille, former newspaper sales outlets have been recycled into local shops.
On the emblematic Canebière, fleshy leaves have replaced the sheets of newspaper. In December 2021, Christian Cô placed his Funny Plants between the four walls of an old newsstand, at 111 of the famous Marseille artery. In these 15 square meters that he has completely refurbished, along the walls freshly painted in powder pink and blue-green, a multitude of beautiful plants are lined up in small terracotta pots or in customizable planters.
Closed for three years, the small stall on the sidewalk has retained its scalloped frieze on the outside, surmounted by a zinc scale dome, and its characteristic pine green trim, but, instead of the press, the barge can buy cacti and grasses there. The former dental technician, who, “in my forties, [s’est] seen finish [sa] life between neon lights and resin molars”, took a 180 degree turn and gave the abandoned kiosk a new lease of life.
Flowers, jewellery, coffee, ice cream, bread, fruit and vegetables, a manicure… In Marseille, former newsstands have thus become small convenience stores. Born in 1857 in Paris, on the grand Haussmann boulevards, overflowing with titles and open almost every day of the year, these places of sale, originally named for the widows of soldiers or civil servants so that they provide them with low income, lived through the expansion and then the decline of the paper press. Non-renewed retirements, too low incomes and, more recently, Covid-19, with the development of teleworking and fewer pedestrians, have accelerated their difficulties.
An experiment that extends
Two years ago, the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis launched a series of calls for projects to encourage their reconversion. It was about “to revitalize the center of Marseille, to offer local services and to recreate social ties in the different districts”, says one of its spokespersons.
“I would not have had the means to invest in a ‘real store'”, says Christian Cô, florist
In the Marseille city, only 41 kiosks, out of the 53 belonging to the Metropolis but operated by MédiaKiosk, a subsidiary of JCDecaux, are still in operation. Half continue to sell press, the other half have moved on to something else entirely. Eleven are totally closed, and one is in the process of being allocated. An experiment that is beginning to spread elsewhere. “Of our fleet of 770 kiosks deployed across France, 142 will now be services outside press sales, a transformation carried out systematically in consultation with the cities”, says Marc Bollaert, Managing Director of MediaKiosk.
You have 65.37% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.