Women’s share

shipyards of La Ciotat

When we talk about the history of the shipyard of La Ciotat, the photos of the boats and cranes are essential, accompanied by images of the thousands of workers who worked there. And then “the 105” who for nearly 10 years led the battle to maintain naval activity on the site. But what about women? Did any of them work at the construction site? What jobs did they have? And all those whose father, brother or companion worked at the construction site, how did they live, what role did they play in history, in the struggles? The Ciotaden collective of cultural actions, La Culture ca Urge, engaged on gender issues and the fight against sexism, has chosen to initiate a research, a cultural project, to try to answer these questions, to highlight the «forgotten» sites. Not to forget them. The theme of this year’s European Heritage Days is “Living Heritage”. On this occasion, the CCU chose to highlight the Matrimoine. The CCU recorded a first series of five testimonies of women who worked at the construction site or who had a member of their family working at the construction site during the period 1960/1990: Employee in the IT department, employee in the household, head of the Works Council, head of the legal department, wife of one of the «105» Cinq femmes evoke with simplicity and sincerity their living and working conditions «at the time of the construction sites». Each testimonial is personal but through these five examples we wish to pay tribute to all the women who, in their own way, contributed to make the construction sites live. These testimonials will be offered free listening to headphones, on the forecourt of the House of Shipbuilding, 46 quai François Mitterrand extended from 15 to 17 September 2023.