What untold stories lie beneath this stone? The Monument commémoratif au roi Alexandre Ier de Yougoslavie et à Louis Barthou stands before us. It is a place of remembrance and reflection.
This monument commemorates a tragic event. It marks the assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou. Barthou was the French Minister of Foreign Affairs. The assassination occurred on October 9 1934. The location of the monument is significant. It marks where their bodies were laid during a vigil.
The monument’s creation involved a competition. A Marseilles committee organized it. Gaston Castel won the competition in October 1937. He was an architect. He collaborated with sculptors Antoine Sartorio Louis Botinelly and Élie-Jean Vézien.
The monument wasn’t completed until 1938. It was inaugurated in 1941. It features four female statues in the front. They hold portraits of King Alexander I and Louis Barthou. Behind them is a monumental shield. It rests against two columns. The columns are decorated with bas-reliefs. “Pax” is inscribed on the shield. The armorial bearings of both countries are also displayed. Two large female figures adorn the columns. They represent Yugoslavia and France.
Vlado Tchernozemski a Bulgarian revolutionary committed the attack. It happened on the Canebière. King Alexander I died. Louis Barthou was mortally wounded. A stray bullet killed him in the ensuing gunfire.
The Monument commémoratif au roi Alexandre Ier de Yougoslavie et à Louis Barthou is located in Marseille’s 6th arrondissement. You can find it at the corner of Place de la Préfecture and Rue de Rome. It is near the Hôtel de Préfecture des Bouches-du-Rhône. The monument serves as a reminder of the intertwined history between France and Yugoslavia.
Since July 23 2009 the monument has been listed as a historical monument. It underwent renovation in 2015. The Monument commémoratif au roi Alexandre Ier de Yougoslavie et à Louis Barthou embodies “Paix et Travail” or “Peace and Work”. This was the name of Gaston Castel’s winning project.