Digue des Français (1974) - Archive N°1

The permanence of the migration issue in the public debate gives depth to any documentary testimony, even if, as is the case here, it only gives a fragmentary view of the question. It was 1974, leftism was decaying, but it participated in the intellectual formation of the then twenty-year-old Yan Morvan, who tried his hand at photography, and it is safe to say that he infused it with a definitive meaning.

La digue is one of the two shanty towns in Nice, the largest, where African immigrant workers from the former colonies have been crammed together in miserable conditions since 1969. The post-war period saw the need for housing explode on the coast, especially since the Alpes Maritimes were chosen to welcome the two major waves of repatriates, first from Indochina and then from Algeria. In addition, the concrete development of the coastline for tourism and the development of real estate marketing saw the promoters become essential links in the local economy. Pre-war Italians provided this workforce with work in the construction industry, and left-wing associations and organisations tried to provide legal and militant assistance. The State tried to control the situation with the creation of the Sonacotra hostels in 1956 and then with the Debré law in 1964, which aimed to combat the shanty towns. […]