Stroll through the Saint-Pierre district

In 1928, Louis Loucheur, a former Minister of Labour from Bordeaux, passed a law providing for state investment in low-cost housing. In other words, "low-cost housing". But it was not until after the Second World War that the law was actually implemented, with the creation of HLMs. The Louis Loucheur housing estate was built in the early 1930s and has 190 homes. It is managed by the social landlord 13 habitat. Today, the estate is best known for being the neighbourhood where the Marseilles rapper Jul grew up!

The viaduct, built in 1850, is 383 metres long and has 92 round arches. This elevated section of railway now serves primarily as a siding, as it leads to a cul de sac. The former Gare de l'Est station was converted into a municipal park, now known as Parc du 26ème Centenaire.

We're standing in front of 126 Boulevard Jeanne d'Arc.
The premises of this former primary school have been converted into a municipal activity centre. The architecture is typical. The guides will describe it as "3-window Marseille". It's a fine example of the type of construction that was common in Marseille between the 17th and early 20th centuries. The flats are all through-windows, facing both the street and the garden. Each flat has 3 windows on each side.

Originally, the street was called "Boulevard de l'Eglise de Saint-Pierre". Today, the name pays tribute to Pascal Ruinat, the owner of the land that he donated to the town for the construction of the church, the presbytery and the roads that were essential for traffic in the district. He himself inherited the land from his father on 7 February 1857. 

Rue Saint-Pierre stretches for more than 3 kilometres, from the Plaine (Place Jean Jaurès) to the eastern edge of the cemetery. This makes it one of the top 3 longest streets in Marseille. [5.4 km for the chemin du Littoral, 3.4 km rue Saint-Pierre and 2.9 km rue Paradis]. Under the patronage of the portier du paradis, the street is lined with small houses, as well as a large fire station belonging to the marine fire brigade, marble works and, more generally, businesses linked to the funeral industry.

It is a family tomb whose plot was transferred from the Saint-Charles cemetery to Saint-Pierre. Before becoming the final resting place of the wealthy Marseille timber merchant who died in 1876, the imposing mausoleum housed the coffin of a little girl who had died at the age of 2 and a half. The tomb was built under the direction of architect Pascal Coste. Fascinated by Arab architecture, Coste fused Moorish, classical and Catholic elements in the design of the mausoleum, even allowing himself a chromatic boldness in the choice of ceramics that adorn the monument. Coste has created a work that lies between two cultures, harmoniously fusing different styles to produce an unexpected and captivating result.

Built in the 1930s by Gaston Castel and Eugène Senès in Art Deco style, it is dedicated to Marseille's soldiers who died on the field of honour during the First World War. It is open to the public every year on 1 and 11 November. The monument resembles a monumental door leading underground. It can be seen as an allegorical representation of death, a kind of descent into hell symbolising the horror of the First World War, which is still one of the deadliest wars in history. No one can say how many remains lie there, although it does extend over four underground levels. Its walls are covered with 1,012 plaques engraved with the names of the soldiers who fell for France.

On your right, in the distance, you can see building blocks in the middle of the cemetery. This is in fact the "Cathedral of Silence", an eight-storey concrete structure designed to accommodate almost 190,000 graves. Like many cities around the world, Marseille has been faced with the challenge of a lack of space for its dead, a situation reminiscent of Rio de Janeiro, surrounded by sea and mountains. In 1968, the Brazilian city commissioned architect Antonio Antunès to design a twelve-storey tower "built for eternity" to house "24,000 residents". In Nantes and Marseille, the municipal authorities have followed Rio's example by erecting "building cemeteries", of which the "Cathedral of Silence" is one. Although the cost of the plot, fixed once and for all, is generally more affordable than that of a traditional plot, its architecture contrasts sharply with the often flamboyant spirit of the cemetery. It is more reminiscent of a council estate from the 1970s and 1980s. According to the architect Nanda Vigo, a pioneer of building cemeteries, the advantages of such a creation are as follows: "No more holes to dig, no more sweating... no more big, ugly sculptures to bring tears to your eyes, no more faded flowers, no more rusty iron, no more invasive weeds...".

This is the cemetery's most famous monument, known as "the last kiss". Designed by the sculptor Buselli, it depicts the deceased on her deathbed embraced by her husband, surmounted by a statue of the soul welcomed into paradise, by the sculptor Henri Reybaud.

The athlete, who died as a result of blows sustained during a fight in the French featherweight championship, is depicted life-size. The epitaph is remarkable and poignant: "If, in the ring, bitter destiny wanted you to fall in combat, know that forever, in your mother's heart, we will hear yours beating". Raymond Grassi died at the age of 23.

It carries water from the Ville diversion. Construction work was completed in 1851. In its entirety, it was 383 m long and originally comprised 92 semi-circular arches, each with a 3 m opening.

RTM (Régie des Transports Métropolitains) has seven depots to manage its network of some 80 regular lines, including three depots dedicated to buses, one mixed depot for buses and trams, one depot dedicated exclusively to trams, and two depots reserved for metros. The Saint-Pierre depot is equipped to maintain a large number of bus lines and all tramway trains. It also houses the tramway control centre (PCT). The Saint-Pierre depot manages the bus routes that serve the metro interchanges at Castellane and La Timone. It also runs the evening bus network from the Canebière Bourse hub. RTM is carrying out a project to reconfigure and modernise part of the bus depot, due for completion in 2026.

Between the tramway control centre and the bus depot there is an enclave housing the CRS 54 (Republican Security Company). This space will be replaced by a new police headquarters, with a floor area of 44,700 m², scheduled for construction in 2027. The CRS company will move to the Ravelle site in the 13th arrondissement in 2026.