Thiers (pronounced as /fr/) is a neighbourhood (fr|quartier) of the 1st arrondissement of Marseille. A cultural and student quarter in the centre of Marseille, it is located between Place Jean-Jaurès and La Canebière, near the Vieux-Port.[1]
The centre of the district is the Lycée Thiers, the oldest school in Marseille, which gave it its name. A network of cultural institutions has developed around the school: at the end of the Place du Lycée is the Théâtre du Gymnase, and, on the premises of the school itself, the Couvent des Bernardines.In this district is the Église Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, a néo-gothic church dedicated in 1886.
The headquarters of the Faculty of Economics and Management of Aix-Marseille is also located here, 95 Long des Capucins Street.[2]
The school and the district owe their name to Adolphe Thiers (1797-1877), first President of the French Third Republic, born in Bouc-Bel-Air situated between Marseille, Gardanne and Aix-en-Provence.
The district was sealed off by the Vichy militia during the Occupation of France by Nazi Germany, and the school was used as police headquarters.[3] [4]
The district was the epicentre of the May 68 demonstrations in Marseille.[5]
In the early 2020s, the school built a boarding school in the street next to the school, rue Sénac-de-Meilhan, in two six-storey buildings for the students of the school and the preparatory classes.[6]