Marseille

This article is about the Mediterranean city. For other uses, see Marseille (disambiguation).

Marseille
Marselha (Occitan)
Prefecture and commune
Skyline of the Euroméditerranée
narrow streets near Fort Saint-Jean
Calanque d'En-Vau in Calanques National Park
Old Port and Notre-Dame de la Garde
Palais Longchamp
Marseille Cathedral
Flag of Marseille
Flag
Coat of arms of Marseille
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
Actibus immensis urbs fulget massiliensis
"The city of Marseille shines from its great achievements"
Location of Marseille
Map
Marseille is located in France
Marseille
Marseille
Marseille is located in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Marseille
Marseille
Coordinates: 43°17′47″N 5°22′12″E / 43.2964°N 5.37°E / 43.2964; 5.37
CountryFrance
RegionProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
DepartmentBouches-du-Rhône
ArrondissementMarseille
Canton12 cantons
IntercommunalityAix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis
Subdivisions16 arrondissements
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Benoît Payan[1] (DVG)
Area
1
240.62 km2 (92.90 sq mi)
 • Urban
 (2020[2])
1,758.2 km2 (678.8 sq mi)
 • Metro
 (2020[3])
3,971.8 km2 (1,533.5 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[4]
873,076
 • Rank2nd in France
 • Density3,600/km2 (9,400/sq mi)
 • Urban
 (Jan. 2021[5])
1,625,845
 • Urban density920/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
 • Metro
 (Jan. 2021[6])
1,888,788
 • Metro density480/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Marseillais (French)
Marselhés (Occitan)
Massiliot (ancient)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
13055 /13001-13016
Dialling codes0491 or 0496
Websitemarseille.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Marseille or Marseilles (French: Marseille; Provençal Occitan: Marselha; see below) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region of southern France, it is located on the coast of the Gulf of Lion, part of the Mediterranean Sea, near the mouth of the Rhône river. A resident of Marseille is a Marseillais.

Marseille is the third-largest city in France by urban area (when combined with Aix-en-Provence), and its second-most populous city, with 873,076 inhabitants in 2021 (Jan. census)[7] over a municipal territory of 241 km2 (93 sq mi). Together with its suburbs and exurbs, the Marseille metropolitan area, which extends over 3,972 km2 (1,534 sq mi), had a population of 1,888,788 at the Jan. 2021 census,[6] the third most populated in France after those of Paris and Lyon. The cities of Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, and 90 suburban municipalities have formed since 2016 the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, an indirectly elected metropolitan authority now in charge of wider metropolitan issues, with a population of 1,911,311 at the Jan. 2021 census.[8]

Founded c. 600 BC by Greek settlers from Phocaea, Marseille is the oldest city in France, as well as one of Europe's oldest continuously inhabited settlements.[9] It was known to the ancient Greeks as Massalia (Greek: Μασσαλία, romanized: Massalía) and to Romans as Massilia.[9][10] Marseille has been a trading port since ancient times. In particular, it experienced a considerable commercial boom during the colonial period and especially during the 19th century, becoming a prosperous industrial and trading city. Nowadays the Old Port still lies at the heart of the city, where the manufacture of Marseille soap began some six centuries ago. Overlooking the port is the Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde or "Bonne-mère" for the people of Marseille, a Romano-Byzantine church and the symbol of the city. Inherited from this past, the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille (GPMM) and the maritime economy are major poles of regional and national activity and Marseille remains the first French port, the second Mediterranean port and the fifth European port.[11] Since its origins, Marseille's openness to the Mediterranean Sea has made it a cosmopolitan city marked by cultural and economic exchanges with Southern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. In Europe, the city has the third largest Jewish community after London and Paris.[12]

In the 1990s, the Euroméditerranée project for economic development and urban renewal was launched. New infrastructure projects and renovations were carried out in the 2000s and 2010s: the tramway, the renovation of the Hôtel-Dieu into a luxury hotel, the expansion of the Velodrome Stadium, the CMA CGM Tower, as well as other quayside museums such as the Museum of Civilisations of Europe and the Mediterranean (MuCEM). As a result, Marseille now has the most museums in France after Paris. The city was named European Capital of Culture in 2013 and European Capital of Sport in 2017. Home of the association football club Olympique de Marseille, one of the most successful and widely supported clubs in France, Marseille has also hosted matches at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2016. It is also home to several higher education institutions in the region, including the University of Aix-Marseille.

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Comparateur de territoire - Unité urbaine 2020 de Marseille-Aix-en-Provence (00759)". INSEE. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Comparateur de territoire - Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 de Marseille - Aix-en-Provence (003)". INSEE. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  5. ^ INSEE. "Statistiques locales - Marseille-Aix-en-Provence : Unité urbaine 2020 - Population municipale (historique depuis 1876)". Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  6. ^ a b INSEE. "Statistiques locales – Marseille – Aix-en-Provence : Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 - Population municipale (historique depuis 1876)". Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  7. ^ INSEE. "Statistiques locales - Marseille : Commune - Population municipale (historique depuis 1876)" (in French). Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Statistiques locales - Métropole d'Aix-Marseille-Provence : Intercommunalité-Métropole - Population municipale (historique depuis 1876)". INSEE. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  9. ^ a b Duchêne & Contrucci 1998, page needed A.
  10. ^ Ebel, Charles (1976). Transalpine Gaul: the emergence of a Roman province. Brill Archive. pp. 5–16. ISBN 90-04-04384-5., Chapter 2, Massilia and Rome before 390 B.C.
  11. ^ Notteboom, Theo (11 March 2009). "Les ports maritimes et leur arrière-pays intermodal". Concurrence entre les ports et les liaisons terrestres avec l'arrière-pays. Tables rondes FIT. pp. 27–81. doi:10.1787/9789282102299-3-fr. ISBN 9789282102268. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  12. ^ Mandel, Maud S. (5 January 2014). Muslims and Jews in France. Princeton University Press. doi:10.1515/9781400848584. ISBN 978-1-4008-4858-4.