AFR-IX is to land its upcoming Medusa cable system at an Orange cable landing station (CLS) in Marseille Medusa will be the longest submarine cable system in the Mediterranean Sea and will connect nine countries in North Africa and Southern Europe by 2024 and 2025 AFR-IX-owned cable will connect Lisbon and Sines Egypt with additional landings in Barcelona and Alacant in Spain; Tétouan and Nador in Morocco; Bizerte in Tunisia; Algiers and Collo in Algeria; Marseille in France; Mazara del Vallo in Italy; Yeroskipou in Cyprus; and Tympaki in Greece The 8700km system will consist of 24 fiber pairs and offer 480Tbps (20Tbs per fiber pair); AFR-IX has said the project will require €326 million ($374m) and will be partially financed by the European Investment Bank for a contribution of €163 million ($186.5m) The companies said Orange was the “only operator” to have scalable infrastructure in the area of Marseille as well as the technical expertise required to land and maintain intercontinental submarine cable systems Orange said it is strengthening its submarine cable access strategy in Marseille with brand new urban infrastructure; route and meshing will reportedly increase the resilience and diversity of access and landing points in Marseille by connecting all the city’s data centers "We are particularly pleased to welcome the Medusa cable to Orange's infrastructure in the heart of the Mediterranean hub of Marseille as part of a strategic and ambitious project By combining our submarine cable landing stations with our new urban infrastructure we are strengthening Marseilles’ attractiveness as a digital gateway to Europe France's sovereignty," said Michaël Trabbia interim CEO of Orange Wholesale & International Networks added: “Marseille has always been a strategic Mediterranean interconnection point and joining forces with Orange means we can offer a cutting-edge service against a background of growing needs in the digital economy all Medusa landings in the western Mediterranean are totally secure and ready to be implemented.” AFR-IX’s new Barcelona Cable Landing Station is set to be the landing station in Barcelona; the facility is the landing point for the Meta-led 2Africa cable Orange has a cable landing station in Marseille in Bonneveine that hosts the India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE) cable Marseille is a landing point for more than a dozen existing and in-development cables Update: Orange Tunisia and Medusa Submarine Cable System announced a deal on May 11 to land the Medusa cable in Tunisia at Bizerte Data Centre Dynamics Ltd (DCD), 32-38 Saffron Hill, London, EC1N 8FH Email. [email protected]DCD is a subsidiary of InfraXmedia Installation view of the collection at MAC Installation views of 'It’s not my job it’s your job' at [mac] musée d’art contemporain de Marseille it’s your job' at MAC musée d’art contemporain de Marseille Marseille’s Museum of Contemporary Art reopens following a four-year facelift with a pop-coloured show by Paola Pivi Marseille’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC) has just received a facelift the institution – located in the affluent southern neighbourhood of Bonneveine – underwent a four-year refurbishment a rooftop terrace and a new exhibition space.  The reinvented museum – whose new artistic director Stéphanie Airaud is due to stem in this summer – opened with a bang last night with a temporary exhibition by Italian artist Paola Pivi and a rehang of its impressive collection featuring works by Louise Bourgeois But the celebration was tainted by ongoing social turmoil linked to President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform Designed in the late 1970s by the German physician Gustav Rau with views to house his private collection MAC’s building was subsequently donated to the City of Marseille which opened its doors to the public in 1994 before obtaining museum status in 2003 Its modernist building is characterised by an imposing saw-tooth roof which graces its 2,500 sqm of marble-floored exhibition space with abundant sunlight.  thanks to a €5 million refurbishing project spearheaded by local architecture firm Bureau Architecture Méditerranée (BAM) the museum boasts an uncluttered entrance hall open to the street and over 300 sq m of additional exhibition space dedicated to experimental projects a ramp now also links the entrance courtyard to the Bonneveine garden at the rear of the building and to a brand-new rooftop terrace with an aluminium bar and panoramic views of the surrounding eight arrondissements a newly-conceived hang gives an overview of the museum’s impressive collection which features some 600 works spanning twentieth-century movements such as Art Povera Inspired by Italian critic and artist Germano Celant’s seminal essay ‘1968: Towards a Global diversity’ the new display titled 'PARADE' features 130 works divided into six sections exploring such themes as materiality Some masterpieces would certainly earn the envy of other museums Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco’s iconic 1993 sculpture La DS – a modified Citroën DS conceived to fit only one body; Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1985 painting The King of Zulus – an homage to Louis Armstrong made of acrylic oil pastels and glued photocopies on canvas purchased by MAC in 1986 for the modest sum of 30,000 French francs (approximately 8,500 € today); and French artist Annette Messager’s 1984 Couteau Baiser – an enlarged photograph of a passionate kiss retouched with bright monochromatic acrylic colours and mounted on canvas.  a temporary exhibition by Paola Pivi titled ‘It’s not my job it’s your job’ features her ever-so Instagrammable multi-coloured feathered bears among other large-size interactive works.  escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox For Marseille – France’s third largest city historically burdened by high rates of criminality and unemployment – MAC’s reopening is a symbol of its recently-elected socialist mayor Benoît Payan’s culturally-progressive international vision one which contrasts with his centre-right clientelist predecessor of 25 years Jean-Claude Gaudin the city’s enthusiasm was overshadowed by the stark reality of nationwide social turmoil over pension reforms when a group of some 40 protestors stormed the podium chanting ‘Macron démission!’ (‘Macron resign!’) and brandishing banners reading ‘No to the privatisation of the art world!’ The intervention served as a harsh reminder that a revitalised museum alone can’t save Marseille from its complex urban ills.  Paola Pivi, 'It’s not my job, it’s your job', 6 August 2023, MAC, Musée d’art contemporain, 69, avenue d’Haïfa, 13008 Marseille. macm.org €25.00Add to cart The AS Monaco U18 team began 2025 in style advancing to the Coupe Gambardella Round of 16 with a solid 2-0 victory over SC Montredon-Bonneveine achieved on the road against a Regional 1 opponent highlights the team’s determination to make a deep run in this prestigious youth competition Coming off a 3-1 triumph over Marignane in their final match of 2024 Monaco faced a Montredon-Bonneveine side brimming with energy and intent who edged past Neuville-sur-Saône in a penalty shootout in the previous round aimed to make life difficult for their more illustrious visitors The first half unfolded as a tightly contested affair Both sides displayed commitment and physicality epitomized by yellow cards shown to Monaco’s Pape Cabral and Montredon’s Ebrima Joof Despite Monaco’s attempts to control the game the halftime whistle sounded with the score still locked at 0-0 leaving everything to play for in the second half Monaco wasted no time seizing the initiative after the break Najd Ajroud capitalized on a defensive error following a corner kick The young forward’s precise shot nestled into the far corner marking his 12th goal of the season and giving Monaco the vital breakthrough they sought Monaco pressed for a second goal to put the match out of reach while Nick Mokabakila was denied by the crossbar Joris Silvente delivered a moment of magic His perfectly struck direct free kick left the Montredon goalkeeper with no chance This victory sends AS Monaco into the Coupe Gambardella Round of 16 with their next match scheduled for Sunday Facing Regional 1 opposition in Montredon-Bonneveine Frédéric Barilaro’s squad displayed grit and quality reaffirming their status as strong contenders for the title The young Monegasques now shift their focus to the next stage eager to continue their impressive campaign With players like Ajroud and Silvente in fine form the road ahead looks promising for Monaco’s talented academy stars 1,050 km cable to link Marseille to Bizerte French telco Orange is going to deploy a new subsea cable connecting France to Tunisia The company this week announced it had obtained a grant from the EU’s "Connecting Europe Facility" (CEF) program to build a 1,050 km cable from Marseille to Bizerte Commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2025; the cable is set to offer ‘several fiber pairs’ Update: It seems the cable is actually part of the Medusa cable system with Orange Tunisia and Medusa Submarine Cable System announcing a deal on May 11 to deploy a submarine cable linking Tunisia (Bizerte) to France (Marseilles) Implementation is scheduled for the end of 2025 “We are very happy to have for the first time obtained the support of the European CEF program for the realization of this ambitious project We are delighted to put our unique know-how in the field of intercontinental submarine cables at the service of the development of strategic infrastructures between Europe and Africa,” said Michaël Trabbia Trabbia had been Interim CEO of Orange Wholesale since September 2022 and took the role on a permanent basis this month Orange has a cable landing station (CLS) in Marseille in Bonneveine that hosts the India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE) cable it was announced that the AFR-IX-owned Medusa cable would be landing at Orange’s CLS in Marseille Bizerte is currently the landing point for the SeaMeWe-4 cable the PCCW-led Europe-Asia Peace cable is set to land there in partnership with Ooredoo Tunisia Tunisia’s other landing point is in Kelibia which lands the Didon (owned by Orange and Ooredoo) All three cross the Strait of Sicily to land at Mazara del Vallo on the Italian island of Sicily "We are particularly pleased that Bizerte is hosting this new submarine cable a strategic and ambitious project for Orange Tunisia which we are carrying out with our partner Medusa It will eventually allow better accessibility to the Internet making the digital world more inclusive and more focused on the fundamental needs of the Tunisian population and economy," said Thierry Millet added: "We are very proud to finalize this agreement with Orange Tunisia which will link the Medusa submarine cable to Bizerte and transform the northernmost region of the continent into a new gateway to Africa Right from the start of this great project we were committed to making Bizerte a major landing point convinced that Orange Tunisia will develop this new infrastructure and promote its strategic location for the interconnection of Tunisia and beyond This new step demonstrates Medusa’s commitment to lead and to encourage the long-term development of essential infrastructure in this region of the continent." Data Centre Dynamics Ltd (DCD), 32-38 Saffron Hill, London, EC1N 8FH Email. [email protected]DCD is a subsidiary of InfraXmedia conseiller municipal d’opposition de Marseille restitue des commentaires Facebook concernant la piscine Vallier (4e) Le sujet du jour : les piscines de Marseille Le représentant du groupe Une Volonté pour Marseille pointe ainsi « un quotidien des usagers détérioré » Ce dernier relève également que quatre des 15 piscines municipales (voir la liste) vont être vidangées pendant la période estivale En y ajoutant les bassins consacrés aux sessions d’apprentissage à la nage des minots « qui empêchent une ouverture au grand public » « seulement six piscines seront ouvertes cet été » Le point piscines est aussi l’occasion pour le groupe de revenir sur des projets promis par le Printemps marseillais. À commencer par celui de la piscine du Mucem, tombé à l’eau, comme nous nous en étions fait l’écho Même si la Ville n’a pas encore confirmé un abandon définitif le cadre de la fonction publique réaffirme d’emblée que ce projet « irréaliste » de la municipalité « ne verra jamais le jour » le budget de 6,5 millions d’euros consacré à ce projet pourrait désormais « être réalloué afin de rénover les piscines existantes » à commencer par celle de Bombardière (12e) basée dans le secteur du maire Sylvain Souvestre (LR) 800 000 euros de travaux avaient été provisionnés sous l’ancienne mandature pour réaliser ces travaux de rénovation Après le changement de majorité rien n’a été fait et aujourd’hui les travaux sont estimés à deux millions d’euros Ça fait trois ans que Sylvain Souvestre se bat pour que ces travaux soient faits » Le maire (LR) des 11-12e persiste et signe insistant sur la dangerosité du site « à l’abandon des jeunes se sont introduits sur les lieux ont rempli la piscine en partie avec un tuyau et se sont amusés à sauter dans le bassin et s’y baigner… » L’adjoint aux Finances de Marseille, Joël Canicave (PS) contrecarre ces affirmations, en assurant que la Ville a bien programmé quatre rénovations de piscines inscrites dans son plan pluriannuel d’investissement (PPI) de 2024-2029 Les trois autres étant : La Castellane (15e) Frais Vallon (13e) et René Magnac (8e) une piscine autrefois gérée en délégation de service public (DSP) récemment revenue dans le giron municipal Pour l’élu du Printemps Marseillais des frais d’entretiens sont également compris dans le budget de la Ville « avec un focus sur Vallier » L’élu d’opposition revient également sur ces deux futurs complexes portés par la Ville vont être portés avec un investisseur privé dans le cadre d’une société d’économie mixte à opération unique (SEMOP) pour partager le risque de l’opération financière Mais la droite critique une nouvelle fois ce modèle économique qu’elle qualifie de « pire que les PPP (partenariat public-privé) » car « on ne transfère pas le risque à l’entreprise privée on garde le risque en fonction des parts de chacun » Le document de préfiguration de la société indique que « la Ville restera actionnaire majoritaire à 66% » contre 34% pour le partenaire privé pour une concession de 23 ans à partir de la date de livraison fixée en 2027 Au nom du groupe, Pierre Robin demande un calendrier exact, ainsi que « des études qui nous rassurent que c’était le bon choix », rappelant au passage, la « main tendue » de Martine Vassal faite en mars dernier pour verser une aide à Marseille de 200 millions d’euros La Ville a terminé la consultation des entreprises le 25 mars sur la Semop un appel à maîtrise d’ouvrage un renforcement du « plan piscines » dédié à l’apprentissage de la nage Des créneaux seront instaurés dans cinq à six piscines cet été Les annonces devraient intervenir mi-juin pour continuer à résorber le chiffre sans appel estimé en 2021 d’un petit Marseillais sur deux qui ne sait pas nager avant son entrée en classe de sixième L’adjoint rappelle que ce dispositif « a permis à 3500 enfants d’apprendre à nager en 2023 ».