MARSEILLE // Joey Barton, considered the "baddest boy" of English football, is embarking on a new life in a French city so lawless that a mayor has called for the army to be sent in to combat gangland killings.
Barton, 30 today, is infamous for his violent excesses on and off the football. He was stripped of the captaincy of the London club Queens Park Rangers (QPR) after his most recent fall from grace, but has now signed a one-year loan deal with France's best-supported team, Olympique de Marseille.
The southern city likes to be known for its sunny climate, cosmopolitan mix and the gift of bouillabaisse, a substantial fish soup, to international cuisine.
But it also has a reputation for ruthless criminality. Barton was in Marseille for negotiations with the club when the latest execution-style murder was carried out on Wednesday night and French social network users lost no time in noting the coincidence. Walid Marzouki, 25, a passenger in a car driven by a young woman was shot dead with a Kalashnikov. The woman had a miraculous escape.
It was the 14th lethal case of scores being settled at gunpoint in Marseille this year, already one more than for the whole of last year and the 19th in the region. Police sources said Marzouki's killing appeared to be linked to drugs.
The unusual call for military intervention came from Samia Ghali, a socialist member of the upper house of parliament, and mayor of two tough Marseille districts.
She said: "With criminals using weapons of war, only the army can intervene." In some Marseillais suburbs, drug-dealing was now the main source of employment, she told the newspaper La Provence.
Ministers swiftly ruled out any question of soldiers being deployed. But Ms Ghali insisted exceptional measures were necessary to tackle crime in France's only city where "young people die by Kalachnikov in the streets".
Jean-Marc Ayrault, France's prime minister, announced a special inter-ministerial committee would examine the social problems of Marseille within the next few days. Parts of the city have already been designated priority security areas.
By comparison with such feuds, Barton's escapades fade into insignificance. All the same, he has an unenviable record of misconduct.
On his website, he describes himself as an "ex-con, ranting anti-celebrity, football's philosopher king, loving dad and violent thug all rolled into one".
He is serving a 12-match ban for an extraordinary outburst in the final game of last season, against Manchester City. Sent off for elbowing Carlos Tévez, he kicked another City player, Sergio Agüero, tried to headbutt Vincent Kompany and confronted Mario Balotelli before reaching the dressing room.
In 2008 he was jailed for six months for assault and affray in the centre of his native Liverpool.
Marseille's problems with crime are not new and stem in part from its history as a port serving as an entry point to Europe from North Africa. There are also links with criminal activity on the French island of Corsica.
High unemployment has made drug trafficking and other serious crime attractive options for young men from high-rise estates. In that respect - added to the ease with which gangsters can obtain deadly weapons - it is tempting to draw comparisons with the two English cities Barton knows best, Liverpool and Manchester, where gun crime also causes deep concern.
As for football, Barton's suspension means he will be unavailable to his new club before November. Supporters will be hoping he then keeps his latest promise to behave himself.
"Once the ink is dry," he tweeted as the deal neared completion, "I can immerse myself in the culture, learn the language and just play football. That is my dream."
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
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How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
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- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Celta Vigo 2
Castro (45'), Aspas (82')
Barcelona 2
Dembele (36'), Alcacer (64')
Red card: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
