Bouches-du-Rhône

Natural regions

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.

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.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Marseille, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 11 communes with more than 25,000 inhabitants:^[8]

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.^[8]

• 
  Arles
• 
  Martigues
• 
  Istres
• 
  Salon-de-Provence
• 
  La Ciotat

History

Since Bouches-du-Rhône is one of the most populous and diverse departments of France, it has long been the scene of particularly fierce political battles. The development of the Marseille-Fos Port, the relationship maintained between France and its colonial empire, the industry around coal mining in Provence, as well as significant immigration, especially coming from Italy, from the end the 19th century and during the period between the two world wars are all factors that led to the emergence of a large and militant working class. From the late 19th century, the socialist movement gained influence, such as in 1881 by the election of the country's first socialist member of parliament, Clovis Hugues. Rural areas, particularly in the region of Aix-en-Provence, have tended to favour the influence of right-wing parties, including monarchists and Catholics at the beginning of the French Third Republic. The interwar period and the time of the Popular Front marked the beginning of the dominance of the left in the department, first with the election of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO).

After the Second World War, the Marseillais right, linked to the underworld and who collaborated with the German occupation, was widely discredited. The left largely dominated the Liberation and Marseille even saw the election in 1946 of Communist Mayor Jean Cristofol. In 1947 the SFIO led an alliance with right and centre parties against the Communists, resulting six years later in the election of Gaston Defferre as Mayor of Marseille, a position he held until his death in 1986. The dominance of socialism was, however, challenged by deindustrialisation. The conservative success in 1995 by Jean-Claude Gaudin in Marseille is a symbol of widespread political shifts while even the former communists bastions of La Ciotat and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône voted for the right. The 1990s saw the rise of the National Front, including its victories in municipal elections of Marignane and Vitrolles.

The President of the Departmental Council has been Martine Vassal of the right-wing The Republicans party since 2015, after former Socialist President Jean-Noël Guérini was voted out of office and has faced corruption charges.

In the 2022 French presidential election, just like five years prior, Marine Le Pen of the National Rally (formerly National Front) won a majority in Bouches-du-Rhône in the first round, before incumbent Emmanuel Macron of La République En Marche! won a majority in the second round.

Members of the National Assembly

Departmental Council of Bouches-du-Rhône

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

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

• 
  Fort Saint-Jean in Marseille
• 
  Landscape near Cassis
• 
  Gardian house in the Camargue
• 
  Mediterranean coast near La Ciotat
• 
  Calanque de Sormiou

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

• 
  Garlaban
• 
  Alpilles
• 
  Calanques
• 
  Montagne Sainte-Victoire