In Barcelona, the French come from all over France. Among the adopted Barcelona, there are Marseillais, attached or not to their city of origin. Testimonials.
“Marseille is a magical city, but with its drawbacks” says Jérémie Toulis. After ten years of living in the Marseille city, the Frenchman moved to Barcelona in 2019 with his wife Marion and their two children, Romane 10 years old and Gabin 8 years old. The family longed for other horizons. “The postcard is nice but we got bored”. Barcelona presented itself as the ideal option for the international side “An enrichment for children”, while staying at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea.
Jérémie, Romane, Marion and Gabin
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While they enjoy their life in Barcelona, they still visit their friends across the border. “Ten years of our life, it can’t be forgotten like that” slips Jérémie Toulis. The Frenchman also admits to being a fervent supporter of Olympique de Marseille. Because what binds the Marseillais together is football.
Barcelona has no shortage of faithful. In order for them to meet, Philippe Saman had the idea of creating a club in the Catalan capital. “We got together to see the games. One day, when the general manager of OM Laurent Colette told me that the club was developing groups of supporters abroad, I challenged myself to set one up in Barcelona ” explains the former director of the French chamber of commerce in Barcelona.
First members of OM Nation Barcelona,
François Bernard, Philippe Saman, Ferhat Dahak, Éric Mass and Rémi Vernay
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ABOUT NATION officially sees the light of day in February 2020. The Covid has disrupted the meetings, but they will resume at the end of the year if sanitary conditions allow. ” We are already more than sixty members, coming from all regions of France. We get to know each other through the same passion, it’s great. More than a club, OM is an identity, values ” says the founder. Philippe Saman still feels Marseillais, even after forty years of living in Barcelona. “Previously I met informally with the alumni of the Marseille business school, now it’s around football” he adds.
A new life in Catalonia
Other Marseillais put their suitcases outside Barcelona. Yves Lasbleiz Pelliccia settled in Roquetes del Garraf in 1994, about forty kilometers from the Catalan capital. He joined his companion from Catalonia. If his adaptation went perfectly, he admits to being nostalgic in certain aspects, even after 25 years. “What I miss the most is the spontaneity of the people, I think that somewhere, we are more expansive in Marseille than in Catalonia” he confides.
The Frenchman is also thinking of other details “Futile like the games of pétanque with friends or the large bunches of basil that you find in the supermarket or at the greengrocer to make the pesto soup, the smell of which scents the store. Without forgetting the typical pastries of Marseille, such as brioche peaches with cream and sugar ”.
Chrystelle
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For others, Marseille is just a distant memory. Having settled in Barcelona for two years, Chrystelle came for an end-of-studies internship and never left. “Initially, I wanted to live in an English-speaking country but I don’t regret my choice at all. I feel good in Barcelona, I am delighted to discover another culture ” she says smiling. Surrounded by Spanish-speaking friends, the Marseillaise has adapted perfectly to Barcelona life. “I haven’t been home since confinement. I really feel complete in Barcelona ” confides the young woman.
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