OAC Publications
Borderlines
September 1998

WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD

MEPA in Marseille

"You must be mad!" was a fairly common response when we decided not to cancel our week of evangelism in Marseille during the World Cup. Mark Howe watched the rioting on the common room TV of a sports centre, where he was taking a BAFA course, and soon decided that the safest course of action was to beat a hasty retreat before anyone recognised his accent!

In the event, the streets were remarkably calm. The French media had made a clear distinction between les hooligans and the majority of British supporters, and we noticed very little anti-English sentiment during our time in the city.

There were disappointingly few people on the streets, as everyone was watching the matches on television, so we spent much of our time on the housing estates instead. As you can see, the children were excited by the gospel presentations and the free booklets! (Many thanks to Stephen Frost of the London City Mission for the photos).