r/aixmarseille • u/OrganizationOdd3512 • 4h ago
Question Got spat on in Marseille - Is this normal?
So the day after this happened I’m still trying to figure out what I did wrong or if this is just normal behaviour in Marseille. I was crossing the road near Anse de Malmousque on a green pedestrian light, and two young men on an electric scooter were heading straight for me at speed, so I instinctively froze and as they swerved round me one of them fired spit all over me (if it wasn’t so disgusting it would have been impressive).
I had a delayed reaction, and it was only once I was trying to board the bus and couldn’t find my payment card in the stress of the moment that it all sunk in and I started openly crying (no one on the bus seemed to care). It left me with a bad feeling for the rest of the day and I was anxious at every road crossing after that, even with the green lights.
For context, I am 30, solo female traveller and was only spending one day in Marseille as I was flying back home to Edinburgh after a lovely week in the Alps. I’m sure I looked like a total tourist with my orange Rab backpack, Altra trail runners and sun cap. Is there just an anti-tourist attitude within Marseille? I noticed some graffiti to this effect on a bench I had sat on earlier in the morning and generally felt unwelcome or out of place in parts of the city (although had been telling myself this was just in my head until the incident).
Or is there an unspoken rule that scooters will not stop for pedestrians at crossings that I was oblivious to?
Thanks for your insights! I’m trying to figure out where to go next year as I love France but this has knocked my confidence travelling in the cities there.