Cruise ships have become hell for some residents of Marseille. They expressed their fed up on Saturday in front of the town hall, as part of a demonstration against air pollution. Their watchword: “breathing kills . Because, with 550 stopovers planned in Marseille this year, the quality of the air is affected by increasingly large boats.
With our correspondent in Marseille, Yoram Melloul
With her cell phone in hand, Michelle Rauzier shows the photo of the Wonder of the seasthe biggest boat in the world that she saw parked in the port from her window: “ There he is when he arrives, he leaves a trail all over town. Once it’s gone, it’s black from black. It makes me scream because it was a nice neighborhood, we had the sea at the end of the garden. There, we have boats that smell bad and we have containers everywhere, it is no longer possible. »
The boats are on 24 hours a day and for this activist of the association Heading Northwho defends the inhabitants of the northern districts of the city against the consequences of the parking of boats, it has become unbearable.
” When we have weather that is a little overcast, a little loaded with humidity, we are under a bell with record levels of fine particles and so on. And we are very largely in systematic excess of WHO standards. »
►To listen: Fine particles: how can indoor pollution be avoided?
Michelle Rauzier calls for the acceleration of the electrification of all the quays of the port mentioned, according to her, since 2013 and now promised for 2025.
Cruise ships, a nightmare for residents
After the Caribbean, the Mediterranean is the most affected by heavy fuel oil pollution, one of the dirtiest fuels in the world, used by ships. Italy, France, Greece and first and foremost Spain are very exposed to this sulfur dioxide pollution. Transportation & Environment which brings together around fifty NGOs has sounded the alarm on the consequences for public health of this pollution in a report in June 2019..
The fight against pollution from these large cruise ships has become a hobbyhorse for residents and local elected officials who have brought the issue to the political arena such as rods, Barcelona Where Venice where large cruise ships have been banned from the city center because of the damage they cause to a fragile lagoon and architectural environment.
►To listen: The great pollution of cruise ships in the Mediterranean