A new lease of life for the Bonne Mère, emblem of Marseille

No less than 40.000 gold leaves have been placed on the statue of Notre-Dame de la Garde - 10 tonnes and 10 m high -, the final stage of a global project launched in February.

This Virgin and Child, which stands at the highest point of the city (altitude: 220 m), "is part of the family of the Marseillais", declared the Cardinal of Marseille Jean-Marc Aveline, during a ceremony at the Abbey of Saint Victor, another unmissable religious monument in Marseille, which was packed to capacity.

And, believers or not, the people of Marseille feel a close connection to her, daring to confide in her "the misfortunes of their lives," Bishop Aveline also affirmed, before the start of a procession to this most visited site in the city. The festivities concluded with a show by DJ Michael Canitrot, who had closed the reopening ceremonies of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Evelyne Gasquet, 79, recalls, for example, going there "every Sunday for a year" to help her sister, who was "seriously ill." Her prayers were "answered." She and her husband also went there regularly "hiking, to support their daughter's professional projects." Her prayers were answered there too, she says.

Mélanie Blanc, 34, who is retraining, recounts how her grandmother used to frequent the site hoping for her husband's return from the Algerian War. A return "that my grandmother attributed to Notre-Dame de la Garde (the Good Mother)." "It feels good to go there, it reconnects me to the sacred," Mélanie affirms today.

"We have the impression that, without its Good Mother, this city will disappear," laughs Bernard Combelles, 63, an executive at the Marseille-based shipping company CMA CGM, who notes "the close relationship between political leaders and the church. They are there for every religious event."

The total cost of the project was €2,8 million. Some 40.000 people and businesses contributed €1,5 million, with the balance financed by local authorities.