The base team of the March of passage through Marseille

The days 20 and 21 November were an opportunity to reinforce key issues of the March with the visit of the international team to Marseille. On Tuesday 29th, members of various groups and friends of the Marseille promoting team met on Tuesday afternoon at the Base to discuss with Martine Sicard y Rafael of the Rubia on important issues of the March. Martine S. put into perspective the origin of the March, its content and its functioning and Rafael DLR gave his testimony of the first part of the circuit already carried out in Central America and Asia, where he was able to observe that the age group most involved in the March was young people, unlike in Europe. He therefore invited us to review our forms of communication, expression and type of discourse. Rather than making theoretical statements or following the dominant dramatic narrative, it is about placing each one in front of his own responsibility, asking himself: what can I do?
After a short break, the film was screened. The beginning of the end of nuclear weapons, which allowed most of the participants to better understand the issues of nuclear disarmament and the importance of mobilizing also from the social base to pressure governments to sign the TPNW (Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons).
The next day, after an exchange lunch at the emblematic place of La Friche with Richard Macotta de Culture Provence Verdon y Catherine Lecoq, actress and member of the Movement for Peace, the team visited the space dedicated to Sup de sub, Higher school of self-training through art (https://supdesub.com/).

In the afternoon, a meeting was scheduled with the Mayor on the subject of the signing of the TPNW; due to agenda issues, it was Jean-Marc Coppola, Councillor for Culture, who had already spoken and encouraged the initiative of the March at the event on 2 October, who welcomed the core team. In a pleasant and unprohibited atmosphere, he finally ushered in a whole group of members of World Without Wars and Violence, some of whom had made a short walk in the rain, others from the Peace Movement and cultural actors.
Everyone was able to express why they supported this March initiative. Martine S. presented the association World Without Wars and Violence, its background and Michel B. from the Peace Movement, also a partner of the ICAN, did the same and reinforced the importance of signing the Call of the Cities In support of the Treaty. Rafael DLR once again underlined the issues discussed the day before: during the first part of the March route he was able to observe a greater mobilization of young people in Central America and Asia than in Europe. He stressed the current situation, which with such a presence of nuclear weapons presents humanity with a dilemma: either it heads towards self-destruction or it chooses to leave prehistory behind. In fact, most people want to live in peace. So it is up to each one to do their part.
JM Coppola explained how, at a local level, the city of Marseille is already involved in promoting a culture of peace with various initiatives such as, recently, the Averroes Meetings, artistic and cultural education actions, welcoming refugees from countries at war, favouring the enrichment of diversity. In this dynamic, it was therefore with great pleasure that he welcomed the March. He also confirmed that the Call of the Cities was to be signed at the beginning of 2025 and that the mayor, not available these days for the Congress of Mayors, wanted it to be done in a formal and public manner for greater impact, since Marseille is the third largest city in France. He said that he was of course counting on the presence of representatives of World without Wars and the March at that time.