"" ("The sardine that choked the port of Marseille") is a French popular expression dating back to the 18th Century, and denoting the supposed tendency of the inhabitants of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

to exaggerate their discourse. The expression actually originates in a historical fact, when a ship named ''Sartine'' sank in the mouth of the harbour. As a

meme A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...

, the story mutated the name into "", French word for the

European pilchard The European pilchard (''Sardina pilchardus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the monotypic genus ''Sardina''. The young of the species are among the many fish that are sometimes called sardines. This common species is found in the northeast ...

, and became a sarcasm.

History

After the Siege of Pondicherry in 1778, a number of French troops were repatriated by

cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...

, including

Paul Barras Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras (, 30 June 1755 – 29 January 1829), commonly known as Paul Barras, was a French politician of the French Revolution, and the main executive leader of the Directory regime of 1795–1799. Early ...

, who headed the

Marine Infantry Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

regiment there. A ship named ''Sartine'' (after

Antoine de Sartine Antoine Raymond Jean Gualbert Gabriel de Sartine, comte d'Alby (12 July 1729 – 7 September 1801) was a French statesman who served as Lieutenant General of Police of Paris (1759–1774) during the reign of Louis XV and as Secretary of State f ...

, then Minister of the Navy of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

), probably a merchantman, was chartered to ferry them back to France. When the ship was about six leagues south of

Cape St Vincent Cape St. Vincent ( pt, Cabo de São Vicente, ) is a headland in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve, southern Portugal. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe. History Cape St. Vincent was already sacr ...

after a ten-month journey, on 1 May 1780, ''Sartine'' encountered the 50-gun . Due to a misunderstanding, ''Romney'' fired on ''Sartine'', killing Captain Dallés and two other men aboard her. ''Romney'' sent a boat to ''Sartine'', and after verifying that she was a cartel, permitted her to proceed. ''Sartine'' then went into Cadiz. From there she sailed to Marseille, where due to the lack of skill of the replacement for Dallés, she grounded at the harbour entrance, blocking it. Pléville, commander of the port, managed to have ''Sartine'' towed to the dock.

Legacy

Léo Ferré Léo Ferré (24 August 1916 – 14 July 1993) was a French-born Monégasque poet and composer, and a dynamic and controversial live performer, whose career in France dominated the years after the Second World War until his death. He released s ...

uses the expression in this 1973 song .

Notes and references

;Notes ;Citations ;References * Barras, Paul vicomte de (1895) ''Memoirs of Barras, member of the directorate''. (Harper & brothers). * ''Seuls les morts ne reviennent jamais : Les pionniers de la guillotine sêche en Guyane Française sous le Directoire'' de Philippe de Ladebat, Éditions Amalthée. * ''Les mésaventures du vaisseau ''Le Sartine'' aux Indes Orientales (1776-1780)

{{DEFAULTSORT:C'est la sardine qui a bouche le port de Marseille French words and phrases 1770s neologisms Culture of Marseille Shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea History of Marseille