Iles du Frioul

The Frioul archipelago lies around 2.7 km off the coast of the Endoume neighbourhood of Marseille. There are four islands: Pomèques to the south, Ratonneau to the north, the small island of Tiboulen du Frioul and If, where the Château d’If is located. This fortress and former prison is where Edmond Dantès, the hero of Alexandre Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo, is incarcerated in the novel. The islands take their name from the Provençal word Frieu, which means “sea passage”. A boat service shuttles between the islands and the Old Port of Marseille. When the plague broke out in Marseille in the 18th century, Ratonneau island was used as a quarantine station. These days, around a hundred people live there all year round. There are no motor vehicles allowed on any of the islands and even the use of bicycles is restricted. Since 23 December 2011, the self-proclaimed Free Republic of Frioul has had its own flag and coat of arms, its own stamp recognised locally and by the French post office, and a currency called the paga. Its tongue-in-cheek motto is: “For art and insolence, without insolation”.