Marseille Residents Rise Up Against Data Center Expansion, Citing Environmental and Freedom Concerns
Marseille, France – A growing citizen movement is challenging the rapid expansion of data centers in Marseille, arguing they strain local resources and pose a threat to both the habitat and essential freedoms. What began as localized concerns over power grid limitations impacting cruise ship electrification has evolved into a broader revolt against the unchecked growth of digital infrastructure, spearheaded by the collective “The Cloud was under our feet.”
The conflict ignited with the establishment of Digital Realty’s first data center near the autonomous port in 2014, followed by three more between 2018 and 2022. Residents soon discovered the increased energy demands of these facilities were preventing cruise ships from connecting to the electricity network while docked, forcing them to rely on polluting generators. This sparked neighborhood committees to campaign for ship electrification, ultimately leading to the formation of “The Cloud was under our feet” last year.The collective now frames the issue as a critical intersection of ecological sustainability and the preservation of civic liberties,warning against further data center projects within the city.
“Afterwards,we began to draw parallels between ecological issues and those on the fundamental freedoms that these centers generate,” explains Antoine Devillet,a philosophy researcher and member of the collective. The movement’s core argument centers on the idea that the unseen infrastructure powering the digital world is having tangible, negative consequences on local communities, demanding a more transparent and equitable approach to its progress.
