Fer à Cheval is one of the oldest soap factories in Marseille, founded in 1856, where Savon de Marseille is still made in the traditional way: 72% vegetable oils blended only with water, salt, and soda. Free of preservatives, perfumes, and colourings, this soap remains entirely natural.

And yet, the truth is fragile. The name “Marseille soap” is unprotected, and the market is flooded with cheaper, mass- produced soaps, chemically made and wrapped in plastic. This pressure once drove the factory into bankruptcy, until the Seghin family revived it — carrying forward not only a business but also a legacy. Their emblem, a horseshoe with seven nail holes instead of the usual eight, speaks of both luck and persistence in the face of decline.

Beneath it all lies the story of the people — unseen and rarely celebrated, bearing the daily burden of persistence, doubt, and survival. Their work is fragile, resilient, and deeply human, reaching far beyond the walls of the factory. The challenge remains: can this craft, sustained for centuries, continue to endure in a world so quick to forget?