Literal translation
to be from Martigues
Meaning
to be a simpleton
Explanation
This phrase means 'to be a simpleton', attributing a lack of sharpness or common sense to the people of one particular town. Martigues, a small town on the Provençal coast known for its canals and sometimes nicknamed the 'Provençal Venice', finds itself here saddled, as so many towns are in local folklore, with a reputation for naivety its inhabitants are supposedly meant to embody. This kind of regional joke, which pins mocked shortcomings on a neighboring town, is a widespread pattern found all over the world and rests on no verifiable historical basis: it is a cliché kept alive by oral tradition alone. The expression is used as a light jab, without real malice, to tease someone who has just done something silly or said something foolish. The register is light and purely familiar, to be handled with the lightness of a local in-joke, never as a serious insult.