Marseille and Venice compete for future cultural capitals of Europe. They highlight their historical situation in the growing "civilizations" and "cultural movements" where they have constantly "combined the reception and fusion" and "the dialogue between the various cultures of the East and the West". Thus "based on the alliance of Immigration and the local population", they were able to "find new balances in them". Behind the official speeches what story git? The similarity between Marseille and Venice is strong. Historically, Marseille and Venice are the two cities of Europe to have sustained the "privilege" – Privata-Lex – of trade in the East with the Byzantine Empire and then the Ottoman Empire. The Golden Bull signed in 1082 by the Byzantine Emperor Alexis de com, gave the advantage to Venice in the Mediterranean trade. She kept it until the seventeenth century in large part following the rampage of Constantinople with his help during the 4th Crusade. The capitulations signed in 1536 between François Premier and Suleiman the Magnificent gives the advantage to French traders under the administration of the Chamber of Commerce of Marseille. Largely inspired by the privileges granted in Venice, they allowed Marseille to dominate the official trade and the race war in the Mediterranean until the French Revolution. Marseille and Venice develop as "port city", immense cargo shed with their canals, their carts and their houses sheds, sort of caravanserais. The defensive natural site – the lagoon for Venice, the Rocky Amphitheatre for Marseille – founded the first port. Istanbul is a dynamic company. When Marseille and Venice manage to go beyond the lines of conflict, they profit greatly at the economic, cultural and political levels. They both know in the nineteenth century an industrial evolution. On the lands initially occupied by rich dwellings, the "factory port" draws a new city made up of workers ' cities, cathedral factories and transport routes. The northern districts of Marseille and the island of La Giudecca, then almost "desert", are experiencing considerable growth. This period lasts more than a century to stop abruptly. The management of industrial wastelands and social effects of the post industrial period (unemployment, population departure) is still topical. The Centre of Venice loses 30% of its population in twenty years, from 100 000 inhabitants to 75,000 at the end of the century. Marseille loses nearly 150 000 inhabitants and 50 000 jobs. Two new ports emerged in the twentieth century. The petro-chemical port in Porto Marghera and Fos XXL. Marseille treats 100 million tonnes of goods of which 60% of hydrocarbons, making it the first port of the Mediterranean. The development of these new ports accentuates the pressure on an already fragile natural environment: the coves of Marseille and the lagoon of Venice occupy more than half of the area of the commune. As for the tourist port, taking place in the "Factory port", it welcomes more and more cruise ships. In the space of ten years, Marseille has multiplied by thirty the number of cruise (360 000 cruise in 2005). Over the same period, Venice has risen from less than half a million to more than 1.4 million passengers (2006). In 2007, Venice would have welcomed more than 20 million tourists. Access to land, or even public space, is clearly becoming a line of conflict. As everywhere in the Mediterranean, the management of natural and cultural resources is becoming a growing source of conflicts. The increase in market value (tourism [1], intangible economy) and the weakening of public intervention (control of public expenditure) favour the logic of privatization. Through their candidatures, Marseille and Venice pose immediately the conflicting dimension of heritage as a source of dialogue, creation of wealth and possible new balances. But while they have been able to dialogue with the other major ports of the Mediterranean and create long-term bridges (commercial counters, houses of commerce), they are struggling today to have their ports interconnected with each other. One cheek against the other. The dialogue seems to be broken between those who inhabit and make each of the ports: beneficiary of tourism, of petro-chemistry, of the lagoon, of industry or without employment. While everyone is helping to build their city, they meet little: a Venetian from the city centre goes little to the Giudecca, almost never to Porto Marghera and more to San Marco. The conflicts of interest are increasing, the interests in common not stated. The initiative at the moment is largely carried by citizens ' movements concerned about the fate of their city and their place. They seek to re-appropriate heritage management to reinvent their own future. Heritage becomes a means of reclaiming the city and its own social, economic and cultural future. Since 1994, in Marseille, the European Integrated Heritage Programme is being held in the heart of the northern districts so that their current conversion is not at the expense of the present heritage and those who live there, the last witnesses of the industrial adventure. He gathered around the Carmelite Valley a curator of the heritage and more than forty structures: parishes, collective of inhabitants, enterprises. For the European Heritage Days will be held in Marseille for the tenth year of the Heritage ballads in the Heart of the North co-districts organized this year by the collective of the Vallon des Carmes. In October 2008 will be inaugurated the "soap of the Carmelite Valley", a witness to the activity of the last soap factory of these neighborhoods and premise to the opening of a "Plant museum". This work should eventually lead to the creation of a foundation centered on the emergence of modalities of private public dialogue in the management of heritage policies, leaving a large part to the residents. The heritage pretext for its experiments will be the Carmelite sites in the Mediterranean with the first objective the cooperative management of Here 2013 of the only historical monument classified and registered of the northern districts: the Cave of the Carmelite and its valley. A first heritage ballad experience will be attempted at the Giudecca this year between an association of residents the 40x and the Casa della Memoria. The Molino Stucky, a huge mill symbol of this industrial era, renovated in luxury hotel, Congress Center and residence, will be at the centre of this heritage ballad. It symbolizes for the mayor of Venice the city "possible" capable of combining in it the memory and the innovation. The challenge is to go to meet the others so that they can tell us their different readings of the renovation in progress and that everyone will be able to reclaim the present heritage. This concern is shared by the Council of Europe, which is struggling to make an individual right to cultural heritage emerge. This right is intended to move us from the status of "beneficiary" of heritage policies to that of "entitled": entitled to participate in its identification as to its interpretation or valorisation. It would inevitably emerge the lines of heritage conflict: Conflicts of use, interpretation, development, choice of mode of conservation. The individual nature of this right makes it possible to move towards a regulation of conflicts which takes into account the whole of the ethical, cultural, ecological, economic, social and political dimensions of heritage. It is in fact part of a conflict prevention and sustainable development perspective. Because it calls on States to share their monopoly on heritage policy and the companies to co-manage the heritage resource, there is little chance that it will end soon. Today, only 3 states out of 47 have ratified the so-called ' Faro ' convention which bases this right. Heritage Ballads are a realization of the land of the right to cultural heritage. They are a point of support for an immense project to open. What are the other possible actions? What openings are the candidature of Marseille as "Laboratory of Cultural democracy" and that of Venice as "multi cultural and tolerant society"? Are there possible links between the two cities? And with the Council of Europe? Christine Breton and Prosper Wanner, September 2008. Article published on the magazine Lagunamare, on the blog Marseille-Provence 2013 and on the social network 40xVenezia