La Ciotat was once host to one of the big shipyards in France. Only the old rusty cranes remind the passing visitor of this prosperous past. At some point, they had to shut down the shipyard and what followed was mass unemployment and shattered existences. Since then, La Ciotat has been torn between its historically relevant past and the challenges that today’s world brings. On the one hand, you have the old shipyard that has been reopened and now repairs yachts. On the other hand, you have the officials that try to promote this lovely town in a touristic way. In the following lucky shot, I tried to show you this torn situation with a reflection of a mirror. The shipyard is always present, be it in form of old pictures at the daily marché, or the old and worried faces of the former shipyard employees.
The access to the shipyard is restricted. I tried to get a special permission to take photos, but unfortunately, this wasn’t possible. So I had to snatch shots from around the shipyard, through fences or from a boat. Some of the old buildings have been removed. Others remained and wait to be torn down.
Even if you can’t visit the shipyard itself, it still remains one of the most obvious and amazing landmarks in La Ciotat.
