Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and largest city is Marseille; other important cities include Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Martigues and Aubagne.

Marseille, France's second-largest city, has one of the largest container ports in the country. It prides itself on being France's oldest city, founded by Greek settlers from Phocaea around 600 BC. Bouches-du-Rhône is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region and the third most populous of France, with 2,087,658 inhabitants as of 2023. It was also noteworthy that more than half of the priests in the department accepted the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which in effect subordinated the church to the government.

Geography

Natural regions

thumb|left|[[TER Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur|TER PACA service in Le Rove, on the Côte Bleue]]

The department is part of the current region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It is surrounded by the departments of Gard on the west, Vaucluse on the north and Var on the east, as well as by the Mediterranean Sea on the south. The Rhône river delta forms a vast swampy wetlands area called the Camargue in the southwestern part of the department. The Rove Tunnel, the world's longest canal tunnel from Marseille to the Étang de Berre, as well as smaller canals further west, allowed for waterway transport from Marseille to the Rhône until 1963, when the Rove Tunnel closed to traffic.

Bouches-du-Rhône is bordered by the rivers Rhône to the west and Durance to the north. The Rhône divides into the Grand Rhône and Petit Rhône south of Arles; the area between forms the Camargue. The principal mountains of the department are the Sainte-Baume massif (1,042 metres – 3,418 feet), Montagne Sainte-Victoire (1,011 metres – 3,316 feet), the Garlaban and Alpilles massifs.

Seismic activity

The department of Bouches-du-Rhône is also known for its seismic activity: the zone II ("average seismic activity") townships of Lambesc Peyrolles-en-Provence and Salon-de-Provence are the most exposed.

thumb|left|Seismic risk in the department

Areas Ib ("low seismic activity") including the cantons of Aix-en-Provence, Trets Eyguières, Orgon, Berre-Pond, Istres, Istres-North and South, and Ia areas ("very low seismic activity") including the other cantons in the district of Aix-en-Provence, Arles-East, Châteaurenard, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Marignane, Martigues-East and Roquevaire-West, are least exposed. Zone 0 ("negligible seismic activity") includes the rest of the department.

Climate

The department has a Mediterranean climate, with contrasting temperatures within a range of 15 degrees. Precipitation is irregular, with only 65 days per year where rain falls in excess of 1 mm. However it falls in sudden downpours, with an average of annually. This mainly happens in the spring and autumn; summer is very hot, winter mild. Violent winds are common, especially the mistral, which blows 100 days per year with a maximum of . The coast is drier, especially along the Côte Bleue, the Calanques and the bay of La Ciotat, which include some of the driest areas in France, with only of rain per year. Higher areas receive more precipitation and lower temperatures. The Arc region in the interior is much colder than other areas, with heavy frosts in winter.

Demographics

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Marseille, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 11 communes with more than 25,000 inhabitants:

{| class=wikitable

! Commune

! Population (2023)

|-

| Marseille

| style="text-align: center;" | 886,040

|-

| Aix-en-Provence

| style="text-align: center;" | 149,695

|-

| Arles

| style="text-align: center;" | 51,811

|-

| Martigues

| style="text-align: center;" | 48,298

|-

| Aubagne

| style="text-align: center;" | 47,529

|-

| Istres

| style="text-align: center;" | 44,292

|-

| Salon-de-Provence

| style="text-align: center;" | 44,194

|-

| La Ciotat

| style="text-align: center;" | 38,477

|-

| Vitrolles

| style="text-align: center;" | 36,758

|-

| Marignane

| style="text-align: center;" | 33,692

|-

| Miramas

| style="text-align: center;" | 26,203

|}

There are 9 more communes with over 15,000 inhabitants: Les Pennes-Mirabeau, Gardanne, Allauch, Châteauneuf-les-Martigues, Châteaurenard, Fos-sur-Mer, Port-de-Bouc, Tarascon and Bouc-Bel-Air.!!Party

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 1st constituency

| Monique Griseti

| National Rally

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 2nd constituency

| Laurent Lhardit

| Socialist Party

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 3rd constituency

| Gisèle Lelouis

| National Rally

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 4th constituency

| Manuel Bompard

| La France insoumise

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 5th constituency

| Hendrik Davi

| L'Après

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 6th constituency

| Olivier Fayssat

| Union of the Right for the Republic

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 7th constituency

| Sébastien Delogu

| La France Insoumise

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 8th constituency

| Romain Tonussi

| National Rally

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 9th constituency

| Joëlle Mélin

| National Rally

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 10th constituency

| José Gonzalez

| National Rally

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 11th constituency

| Marc Pena

| Socialist Party

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 12th constituency

| Franck Allisio

| National Rally

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 13th constituency

| Emmanuel Fouquart

| National Rally

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 14th constituency

| Gérault Verny

| Union of the Right for the Republic

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 15th constituency

| Romain Baubry

| National Rally

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Bouches-du-Rhône's 16th constituency

| Emmanuel Taché

| National Rally

|-

|}

Departmental Council of Bouches-du-Rhône

thumb|180px|[[Martine Vassal, current President of the Departmental Council]]

Below is a list of seats won by the department's different parties after the 2015 departmental elections.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"

!colspan=2| Party || Seats in the Departmental Council

|-

! style="background-color: " |<span style="color:white; font-size:190%;">•</span>

|The Republicans (LR) ||align="right"| 25

|-

! style="background-color: " |

|Socialist Party (PS) ||align="right"| 15

|-

! style="background-color: " |<span style="color:white; font-size:190%;">•</span>

|Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) ||align="right"| 7

|-

! style="background-color: " |

|French Communist Party (PCF) ||align="right"| 5

|-

! style="background-color: " |

|Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV) ||align="right"| 2

|-

! style="background-color: #ffcc33" |

|La Force du 13 ||align="right"| 2

|-

! style="background-color: " |

|National Front (FN) and France Arise (DLF) ||align="right"| 2

|}

Culture

thumb|[[Paul Cézanne's Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley]]

The department is well represented in French art. Paul Cézanne painted numerous representations of the Mont Sainte-Victoire. Vincent van Gogh spent two years in Arles, painting many scenes in the area. The department's main museums include the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, the Musée de la Faïence de Marseille and the Marseille History Museum.

Transport

The department is served by Marseille Provence Airport which provides direct routes to other parts of France, Europe, northern Africa, Asia and northern America. Nice Côte d'Azur Airport is also fairly used by air travellers from the department.

Tourism

Main sights

Major sites of tourism include:

  • The cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence
  • Roman and Romanesque monuments of Arles
  • The Camargue and the town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
  • Alphonse Daudet's windmill in Fontvieille
  • Les Baux-de-Provence, medieval village
  • Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and the ruins of the Roman city of Glanum
  • Tarascon, medieval castle and church
  • Salon-de-Provence, city of Nostradamus and one of the biggest citadels in Provence: Château de l'Empéri
  • The Calanque de Sormiou, Marseille

<gallery mode="packed">

File:Marseille - Fort Saint-Jean 16.jpg|Fort Saint-Jean in Marseille

File:Calanque near Cassis, Provence, France (6052444485).jpg|Landscape near Cassis

File:Cabane en Camargue.jpg|Gardian house in the Camargue

File:Calanque de Figuerolles-La Ciotat.jpg|Mediterranean coast near La Ciotat

File:Calanque de Sormiou 1 1.jpg|Calanque de Sormiou

</gallery>

Natural landmarks

Rivers include:

  • The Rhône, which forms the border with the department of Gard
  • The Durance, which forms the border with the department of Vaucluse
  • The Arc
  • The Huveaune

Lakes include:

  • Étang de Berre
  • Étang de Vaccarès, in the Camargue

Mountains include:

  • Alpilles mountain range
  • Calanques between Marseille and La Ciotat
  • Corniche des Crêtes
  • Garlaban
  • Mont Puget
  • Montagne Sainte-Victoire
  • Sainte-Baume massif

<gallery mode="packed">

Massif du Garlaban.jpg|Garlaban

170604-Alpilles-01.jpg|Alpilles

En-Vau calanque 4.jpg|Calanques

Barrage de Bimont 20130921 01.jpg|Montagne Sainte-Victoire

</gallery>

See also

  • Cantons of the Bouches-du-Rhône department
  • Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department
  • Arrondissements of the Bouches-du-Rhône department
  • List of senators of Bouches-du-Rhône
  • Bouches-du-Rhône Police Prefecture

Sources

  • Prefecture website
  • Departmental Council website