À Arles

The set-up of À Arles is the same as that of the first part of À Valenciennes: eleven editors take over an ordinary French town. Each of them wanders around the city for a week, targeting a few places or institutions, meeting ordinary inhabitants, and meeting or not meeting less ordinary inhabitants. The result is one or more texts which, being both subjective and documented, narrative and analytical, are akin to literary journalism, empirical or even wild sociology. From text to text, a city emerges, singular and exemplary, like no other, but caught like any other in the general movement.

The Collectif Othon makes documentaries on urban planning and territorial democracy. Its members are Juliette Baillot, Gaëlle Bantegnie, François Bégaudeau, Gwenaël David, David Deneufgerman, Antoine Derouallière, Julien Ollivier, Cat Ouvrard, Bénédicte Thibaut, Xavier Tresvaux and Stéphanie Vincent. He has published À Valenciennes in 2020 (Au Diable Vauvert).