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Origin and history

The memorial to King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou, located in the 6th arrondissement of Marseille, pays tribute to the victims of the October 9, 1934 bombing on the Canebière. This tragic event cost the life of the Yugoslav king and the French Foreign Minister, Louis Barthou, who was hit by a bullet lost during the shooting. The monument, designed by architect Gaston Castel and sculptors Antoine Sartorio, Louis Botinelly and Élie-Jean Vézien, was erected at the corner of the Prefecture Square and the Rue de Rome, where the remains were laid during the funeral vigil.

The project, entitled "Pax et Travail", was selected in October 1937 after a competition organized by a Marseille committee. The monument consists of four female statues holding the portraits of the two victims, framed by a monumental shield decorated with the word "Pax" and the Franco-Yugoslav coat of arms. Two columns decorated with bas-reliefs support allegories from France and Yugoslavia. Inaugurated in 1941 after its completion in 1938, it was listed for historical monuments on 23 July 2009.

The 1934 attack by the Bulgarian revolutionary Vlado Chernozemski deeply marked local and international history. The monument symbolizes both mourning and the aspiration for peace among nations, reflecting the political tensions of the inter-war period in Europe. Its artistic style, combining classicism and modernity, illustrates the aesthetic currents of the time, while its location near the Hôtel de préfecture des Bouches-du-Rhône makes it a central place of memory in Marseille.

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