Because we don't find books on every street corner, every week, 400 leaders of the ATD Fourth World movement are installing a space filled with structures throughout France, at the foot of buildings or in squats. In 1968, the Street Libraries were born from’a conviction: culture is a powerful vector in the fight against’exclusion. Report from the town of La Maurelette, in the northern districts of Marseille.
La Maurelette is one of the vast programs built in the 1960s in the Marseille countryside. Four-story buildings and towers surround the original bastide, still there as well as its pond and its majestic stone staircase. Some overlook the Mediterranean, which offers a luminous horizon. On the front side, the decor is darker. The bastide is decrepit, the park is deserted, the businesses have closed their doors and the condition of many buildings leaves something to be desired (bonus). The middle classes left the towers in the 1980s, gradually replaced by poorer populations.
♦ 50% of the population of La Maurelette lives below the national poverty line – around 1,120 people, in Resource City.
Under the gaze of parents
It is in this context that ATD Fourth World (Agir tous pour la dignity Fourth world) installed in 2022 a Street Libraryafter a few years in the city of Rosiers, “ where it became too complicated because of the deal points », says Antoine Lopez, a big guy at the’Toulouse accent and head of the Street Library in Marseille.
The movement first tested Maurelette 1. “ But the parents wouldn't let their children go out because of the young people who were doing wheelies on motorbikes, so we migrated to La Maurelette 2 ». L’advantage of 2? The large courtyard surrounded by four bars of’buildings. The residents have a view of everything that is happening. C’is one of the ingredients of the Street Library. To hang the most’children,’entertainment – free – must take place under the gaze of families. They can thus monitor them and witness their appetite for reading.
‘’Despite compulsory schooling,’illiteracy affects today’today 9% of the French population and remains statistically linked to extreme poverty. S’adding to d’other factors, it contributes to radically excluding from civic life’'. ATD Fourth World
A mat, books
Every Wednesday, summer and winter, five leaders loaded with books roll out a mat and sit down for two hours of reading and games. Grégoire Kantoucar, volunteer (bonus) for thirty years at ATD Fourth World, has been beating the encore with his djembe. And the courtyard, deserted a few minutes earlier, immediately comes alive with a swarm of children.
The outfits are colorful and the faces are happy. First there is Irsana and Menessa, who throw themselves into the arms of Antoine Lopez, saying: “Youwhere was you? “. Then Ouchden and his friend who took over the album “The Little Hen Who Wanted to See the Sea” – a flagship collection dedicated to youth. The 9 year old boy reads a lot. He has lots of books at home, especially in his room. He explains that he likes to read “ because I discover new words and I learn lots of things “. A little further on, Naël, 8 years old, in CE2, says he enjoys reading “ because I like spelling, grammar and conjugation “. The children move from one work to another, trace the drawings with their fingers, read with ease for some, and wander around for others.
♦ (re)read Make the book a familiar object
Stay in pleasure reading
Around twenty books are available to them at each session. But the animators do not necessarily come with the same. “And we regularly buy new ones », explains Catherine Bouliot, who also volunteers on Saturdays in a slum with Roma children.
The Street Library accepts the donation of books, on the condition that they are not damaged. Because aesthetics are important. Holding a beautiful object in your hands makes you want to explore it more. “ The book allows us to access the temporal, to travel, to imagine, to dream, to discover other things that we did not suspect.agrees Grégoire Kantoucar. It is a tool of emancipation “. This Senegalese native is all the more convinced of this since he ran a Street Library in his country with out-of-school children. After an hour, the facilitators bring out board games and coloring pages, “ because at some point, they get fed up », underlines the volunteer. The idea remains to leave the children free to come and go to the book.
“If we want to break the circle of poverty, we must bring in culture, books, beauty”, Antoine Lopez
No door to go through
Everyone is invited to come, no doors’is to be crossed. Moreover, three women end up coming down and chatting while sitting on the walls. “ Two Wednesdays ago, two mothers came to bring us tea. Sometimes some sit with us on the mat », continues Catherine Bouliot. The book sometimes becomes the trigger for collective projects in which children and parents are actors, taking pleasure in developing their imagination: theater, manual activities, writing workshops, etc. “ We bring culture to the field, in all its forms », agrees Antoine Lopez, volunteer for thirteen years (bonus).
In July, like every summer, the movement organized for five days a Festival of knowledge and arts with residents of La Maurelette. This ATD Fourth World event takes place throughout France to highlight everyone's talents: drawing, circus, slam, dance, cooking, etc.
The link with families
Week after week, the facilitators repeat this ritualL. This regularity and proximity builds a bond of trust with families. And spark unpredictable meetings between facilitators, parents and neighborhood residents. At the Street Library, adults can get out of’isolation, s’inform each other, come together to act and join’other collective actions such as the Fourth World Popular Universities. These spaces for dialogue, reflection and training (bonus) exist everywhere in France. « The idea is that they take charge of their lives. We are in the logic of doing things with people and not for them. It's not assistance », specifies Antoine Lopez.
♦ (re)read The Mucem charters a free bus for the cities
Detect difficulties
These meetings with families allow volunteers from the “d” movement toe detect their difficulties and potentially help them. For a job, children, papers », Details Antoine Lopez, who reports the presence of many Turks and Kurds, who speak little French. The movement can rely on its network and direct according to needs: Emmaüs, Apprentis d'Auteuil, Secours Catholique, etc.
With around twenty children today, between 3 and 11 years old, the Street Library is experiencing good momentum. The only downside is the desertion of young people during adolescence. Antoine Lopez plans to mount a group for 16-25 year olds. « A discussion group on social issues » which would invite them to build a chosen life. Street Libraries are thus woven from these meetings and initiatives, as close as possible to needs. They don't’have nothing extraordinary, except to unite around books and reading, and to act in depth against’exclusion. ♦
* The Mucem sponsors the “culture” section and offers you the opportunity to read this article*
Bonus
[pour les abonnés] – Joseph Wresinski, founder of’ATD Fourth World – La Maurelette, city in decay – 450 volunteers around the world – Fourth World Popular Universities –
