The most cosmopolitan European city: situating narratives and practices of cultural and social relations in Marseille

Abstract

ABSTRACT Marseille’s identity as a cosmopolitan place was a key element in the city’s application to be European Capital of Culture (ECOC) in 2013, where the city was represented as ‘the most cosmopolitan’ in Europe. The language of cosmopolitanism enabled city leaders to align Marseille with ‘European’ values of cultural diversity and to highlight the city as a place of diverse cultural production. Such claims have incited interest in a country where cultural and ethnic differences are often considered a challenge to the ideals of French Republicanism. Narratives of social and cultural relations in Marseille are in fact highly variable. This article uses a neighbourhood arts project as a case study through which to explore and situate understandings, representations and experiences of cultural and social relations in the city.