Marseille Begs Batman To Intervene, Curb Crime In French City

Batman might not be the hero Marseille deserves, but he’s definitely the one they need right now. The French town has seen such dramatic crime wave this year that its citizens have turned to the DC Comics superhero for help.

You laugh, but the situation is actually very serious. MSN reports that a quarter of their population lives below the poverty line, and there have been 13 gang-related killings in 2013 so far. The city also has the dubious reputation as “Europe’s most dangerous place to be young,” and it’s not the “sexy” kind of danger.

This has all led a group of residents to call for a Marseille Batman to rise and save them from their troubles. A farcical petition asking “Will it take Batman to save Marseille?” has been set up and has received thousands of signatures thus far.

A Facebook page based on the initiative has 4,000 likes so far.

Complainants say that the police have been overrun, and that the government has been offering rhetoric instead of action. So they need a man. A man who will recognize that criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot. A man whose disguise is able to strike terror into their hearts. A creature of the night.

Or rather, the petition encourages Marseille citizens to take action into their own hands to thwart crime instead of relying on the police.

“A Batman for Marseille aims to encourage Marseille residents to take their own security and not simply outbid opportunistic communication and political meningitis,” the petition says.

The petition does not mention whether Marseille accepts Ben Affleck’s casting as Batman.