‘It’s a huge waste’: A faculty in Marseille, France’s second-largest city, will temporarily close its city center premises amid growing uncertainty surrounding drug trafficking in the area.
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Marseille is a port city marked by severe inequalities and has been affected by drug trafficking for decades. But as in other cities in France, violence is increasing in the control of the points of sale of these illegal substances.
And “after months of concern and concern, the dean of the Faculty of Business and Management of the Colbert site in Marseille has decided to close access to this building to students and staff due to their inability to ensure their safety .” “wrote university president Eric Berton in a letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, addressed to the prefect of the department and the prefect of the police, as well as to the prosecutor and the mayor of Marseille.
Staff and students at this location will work remotely from Friday through October 13th. A decision that could be renewed.
“It’s (…) about denouncing the unhygienic conditions and the insecurity around the faculty,” explained the dean of the faculty, Bruno Decreuse, on Wednesday in front of the premises, which are just a stone’s throw from the Old Port, the historic center Out of town.
According to the dean, around 1,500 students, 170 teachers and dozens of administrative staff attend this branch of the university, which is located in a poor neighborhood.
“There is a deal point that has grown significantly this summer. All day we hear them screaming to sell their goods, it’s like fishmongers,” one of the employees, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.
One of his colleagues, who says he is “very connected to this place (…) in this working-class district,” speaks of a “huge waste.”
Students worried Wednesday about being isolated and hoped for measures to reopen faculty and a more peaceful environment.
“It is obviously impossible for the public service to give in under the influence of narcotics and for the university to change location,” emphasized the sub-prefect of the police of the Bouches-du-Rhône department, Yannis Bouzar spot. who promised to increase law enforcement presence.
Likewise, Yannick Ohanessian, deputy security officer at City Hall, believes that “it is absolutely not possible for a university to close its doors or flee a neighborhood” due to its proximity to human trafficking.
A meeting organized by the police chief of Bouches-du-Rhône was scheduled to take place on Wednesday afternoon in the presence of the president of Aix-Marseille University and the town hall.
In Marseille this year, more than forty people were killed in turf wars between drug traffickers; the prosecutor spoke of a “bloodbath”.