Monument to the Mobiles of 1870
Why is it significant?
Stand at the tip of Allée Gambetta before the commanding Monument to the Mobiles, a patriotic sculptural masterwork unveiled in December 1894 to honor the mobile national guardsmen of the Bouches-du-Rhône who fell during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
Key Facts
| Place | Monument to the Mobiles of 1870 |
|---|---|
| Address | Allée Gambetta, 13001 Marseille, France |
| Geo Coordinates | 43.30000, 5.38850 |
| Part of Walk | The Old Port, La Canebière and Palais Longchamp: From Merchant Agora to Water Palace |
| Generated | Generated |
Stand at the tip of Allée Gambetta before the commanding Monument to the Mobiles, a patriotic sculptural masterwork unveiled in December 1894 to honor the mobile national guardsmen of the Bouches-du-Rhône who fell during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Created by Provençal sculptor Jean Turcan, this commemorative monument rises upon a ten-meter pedestal of white ashlar stone. At the summit, an allegorical bronze figure of armed France, holding a sword and the tablets of the law, shelters a dying young soldier clutching the national tricolor flag. Around the pedestal base, four heroic bronze statues portray Provençal defenders in the full vigor of youth: a farmer from the Crau plain, an arsenal shipyard metalworker, a Mediterranean fisherman, and a bourgeois volunteer, united in defending the democratic republic. Lateral stone medallions commemorate fierce battles fought by the Army of the Loire at Nuits-Saint-Georges, Beaune-la-Rolande, and beneath the besieged ramparts of Paris. The monument marks the pivotal civic crossroads where La Canebière transitions into the shaded grandeur of Boulevard Longchamp. Dark bronze weathered by coastal sea air gleams with solemn majesty in the Provençal light. Students and neighborhood residents frequently gather here as an iconic meeting point at the threshold of elegant residential quarters.
Observe the emotional expression of the dying soldier at the summit: Turcan captured the dignity and tragedy of youth without resorting to excessive melodramatic gesture.
Sculptor Jean Turcan, born in Arles, studied under Cavelier and won the Prix de Rome before dedicating his artistic career to major republican civic monuments in Provence.
The monument narrowly escaped melting for non-ferrous metals by German forces in 1942 thanks to quiet resistance by municipal museum curators who hid documentation.
Walk beneath the broad canopy of plane trees along Boulevard Longchamp toward the Palais Longchamp.