Toulon dévergondée : Marc Bayle raconte la Basse-Ville 1880-1980

Published on January 29, 2026 Do you really know Toulon's Lower Town? A red-light district, opium dens, sailors on shore leave, writers and artists in search of "festive tourism"... In this interview, historian and honorary prefect Marc Bayle revisits a century of the sensitive history of Toulon's Lower Town, from 1880 to 1980. He discusses the infamous "Chapeau Rouge" (Red Hat), Toulon's reputation as the "capital of prostitution and opium," but also the arrival of major intellectuals: Jean Cocteau, Georges Bernanos, Joseph Kessel, Blaise Cendrars... We discover another image of Toulon: a city of sailors, of pleasure, but also of culture, artistic ferment, and port myths. The interview delves into archives, police reports, opium dens, urban memory, and Toulon's identity. 📖 Book featured: "Toulon Unbridled: The Lower Town (1880s-1980s)" Author: Marc Bayle – Honorary Prefect, former Naval Commissioner. 📚 Authors and contributors: Collective work edited by Marc Bayle, with contributions from André Fourès, Léa Andréani, and Colette Servières. Interview conducted by Meddy Viardot for INFO83, in Toulon. Find all the latest news from the Var region on our website: www.info83.fr 👉 A conversation to understand how this "unbridled" neighborhood shaped the collective imagination of Toulon, and why it has now almost disappeared from maps… but not from memory. ➡️ INFO83, Var close to you 🌐 https://www.info83.fr 🔸Read the full article on our website: https://www.info83.fr/toulon-devergon... ➡️ Subscribe to the INFO83 Var news YouTube channel ➡️ Follow us on Facebook:   / information83