Débat d’ouverture — Du besoin de raconter des histoires

Why do we need stories so badly to understand the world? With Sabyl Ghoussoub, Giulia Fabbiano

There are stories we tell, stories we write, and others we listen to. They are passed on, bring people together, weave connections and link us to one another; they shape memories and identities, but can also divide. Some are based on facts, while others take the paths of fiction: all of them say something about our need to give shape to reality. But who tells the story? Based on which facts, silences and memories? And what becomes of a story when several narratives compete over its truth?

Since 2024, the Rencontres have begun with a debate taking Marseille as the starting point for reflection. This year, echoing the theme “Crossing / Breaking free,” it will focus on our need to tell stories, at the border between journalism, investigation and fiction. This question lies at the heart of the new novel by Franco-Lebanese writer and journalist Sabyl Ghoussoub, Mon imam, in which he investigates the disappearance of Imam Moussa Sadr while asserting the writer’s freedom to explore the blank spaces in History. Faced with contradictory testimonies, myths and political narratives, can fiction offer another approach? He will discuss this with anthropologist Giulia Fabbiano (Aix-Marseille University), whose research notably examines memories and narratives relating to migration and Algeria.

To read Giulia Fabbiano and Camille Faucourt (eds.), Revenir. Expériences du retour en Méditerranée, Mucem / Anamosa, 2024. Sabyl Ghoussoub, Mon imam, Stock, 2026

The debate is followed at 9 p.m. by Loghofète ou le prénom perdu by Fred Nevché (combined ticket for the evening). Food available on site.