Village En Marais

"NO CEDA NO MILITARY STAY OUT!"

- Banner sign "If anyone could survive the infection, it would be these people..."

- Rochelle

The Louisiana community named Village En Marais is the setting for the last three chapters of the Swamp Fever campaign in Left 4 Dead 2.

The second chapter is centered on the entrance and Earl's Gator Village. The third chapter takes place in the swamp town, and the finale moves to a riverside setting featuring a third huddle of buildings next to the decaying remains of the 19th century plantation house.

"Village En Marais" translates literally from French into English as "Marsh Village" which transposes into colloquial English as "Swamp Town." This community is predominately Cajun who owed their origins and culture to the French settlers forcibly removed from Canada's Nova Scotia region at the time of the French and Indian War in the late 1750s.

History
This small town was always seen as being independent from the rest of the world, both physically and culturally. Living deep in the Louisiana bayou, the residents chose a more physically demanding and labor-derived lifestyle such as living in shacks, mobile homes, and wooden houses, and farming; it is arguably the most impoverished settlement visited by the four survivors. The main source of income for this town was most likely the tourism industry as they have several swamp and alligator tours, fishing, and tours of the plantation house. They also had a couple of convenience stores, a lounge, and several shacks both on and off the swamp that the people could rent.

Current Status
When the word of the Infection reached the village, its residents immediately barricaded themselves inside their homes. The main roads and houses were blocked up and a sign refusing help from CEDA and the military was put up at a nearby highway gas station. Their efforts to keep the Infected out were definitely noticeable with barricades and signs. When the Infection did reach the village, the villagers took extreme measures; they killed all Infected and livestock (The same was seen in Blood Harvest). They were successful for a time; managing to string up a Charger while graffiti in the plantation house indicates that the village itself lasted longer than Shreveport and Bossier City, perhaps standing the longest against the Infected. However, further graffiti found in the village seems to suggest that despite their best efforts, the Infection inevitably overwhelmed the villagers and wiped out the majority of them; eventually what few survivors remained retreated to the Plantation House and fled to New Orleans from there by boat three days prior to the Survivors' arrival.

Landmarks in Village En Marais

 * A large swamp surrounding most of the village
 * Unnamed convenience stores
 * Alligator Observation Deck
 * Earl's Gator Village
 * Plantation House
 * Wilsons Gas Station (Just off Interstate 10)