Marseille |
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Marseillepantw.JPG | ||
Panorama of Marseille | ||
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Marseille
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Administration | ||
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Country | France | |
Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | |
Department | Bouches-du-Rhône | |
Arrondissement | Marseille | |
Intercommunality | Urban Community of Marseille Provence Métropole | |
Mayor | Jean-Claude Gaudin (UMP) (since 1995) |
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Statistics | ||
Land area1 | 240.62 km2 (92.90 sq mi) | |
Population2 | 851,420 (2008) | |
- Ranking | 2nd after Paris | |
- Density | 3,538 /km2 (9,160 /sq mi) | |
Urban area | 90 km2 (35 sq mi) (2006) | |
- Population | 1,420,000 (2010) | |
Metro area | 2,830.2 km2 (1,092.7 sq mi) (1999) | |
- Population | 1,604,550 (2007) | |
INSEE/Postal code | 13055/ 13001-13016 | |
Dialling code | 0491 or 0496 | |
Website | marseille.fr | |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | ||
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
Marseille ( /mɑrˈseɪ/; also Marseilles in English; French pronunciation: [maʁsɛj]; locally [mɑχˈsɛjɐ]; in Occitan Marselha or Marsiho [maʀˈsejɔ, maʀˈsijɔ]), known in antiquity as Massalia (from Greek: Μασσαλία),[1] is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of 240.62 km2 (93 sq mi). The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000[2] on an area of 1,204 km2 (465 sq mi). 1,530,000[3] or 1,601,095[4] people live in the Marseille metropolitan area, ranking it 3rd among French metropolitan areas after Paris and Lyon. Located on the southeast coast of France, Marseille is France's largest city on the Mediterranean coast and largest commercial port. Marseille is the capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, as well as the capital of the Bouches-du-Rhône department. Its inhabitants are called Marseillais.
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Marseille is the second largest city in France after Paris and the centre of the third largest metropolitan area in France after Paris and Lyon. To the east, starting in the small fishing village of Callelongue on the outskirts of Marseille and stretching as far as Cassis, are the Calanques, a rugged coastal area interspersed with small fjords. Further east still are the Sainte-Baume, a 1,147 m (3,763 ft) mountain ridge rising from a forest of deciduous trees, the town of Toulon and the French Riviera. To the north of Marseille, beyond the low Garlaban and Etoile mountain ranges, is the 1,011 m (3,317 ft) Mont Sainte Victoire. To the west of Marseille is the former artists' colony of l'Estaque; further west are the Côte Bleue, the Gulf of Lion and the Camargue region in the Rhône delta. The airport lies to the north west of the city at Marignane on the Étang de Berre.
The city's main thoroughfare, the wide boulevard called the Canebière, stretches eastward from the Old Port (Vieux Port) to the Réformés quarter. Two large forts flank the entrance to the Old Port—Fort Saint-Nicolas on the south side and Fort Saint-Jean on the north. Further out in the Bay of Marseille is the Frioul archipelago which comprises four islands, one of which, If, is the location of Château d'If, made famous by the Dumas novel The Count of Monte Cristo. The main commercial centre of the city intersects with the Canebière at rue St Ferréol and the Centre Bourse (the main shopping mall). The centre of Marseille has several pedestrianised zones, most notably rue St Ferréol, Cours Julien near the Music Conservatory, the Cours Honoré-d'Estienne-d'Orves off the Old Port and the area around the Hôtel de Ville. To the south east of central Marseille in the 6th arrondissement are the Prefecture and the monumental fountain of Place Castellane, an important bus and metro interchange. To the south west are the hills of the 7th arrondissement, dominated by the basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde. The railway station—Gare de Marseille Saint-Charles—is north of the Centre Bourse in the 1st arrondissement; it is linked by the Boulevard d'Athènes to the Canebière.
Marseille has a Mediterranean climate, with mild, humid winters and warm to hot, mostly dry summers. December, January and February are the coldest months, averaging temperatures of around 12 °C (54 °F) during the day and 4 °C (39 °F) at night. July and August are the hottest months, averaging temperatures of around 29 °C (84 °F) during the day and 19 °C (66 °F) at night.[5] Marseille is known for the Mistral, a harsh cold wind originating in the Rhône valley that occurs mostly in winter and spring. Less frequent is the Sirocco, a hot sand-bearing wind, coming from the Sahara Desert.
Climate data for Marseille | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Average high °C (°F) | 11.2 (52.2) |
12.6 (54.7) |
15.3 (59.5) |
17.7 (63.9) |
22.2 (72.0) |
26.1 (79.0) |
29.5 (85.1) |
29.2 (84.6) |
25.3 (77.5) |
20.3 (68.5) |
14.7 (58.5) |
12.0 (53.6) |
19.7 (67.5) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 7.1 (44.8) |
8.3 (46.9) |
10.7 (51.3) |
13.1 (55.6) |
17.4 (63.3) |
21.1 (70.0) |
24.1 (75.4) |
23.9 (75.0) |
20.4 (68.7) |
15.9 (60.6) |
10.8 (51.4) |
8.0 (46.4) |
15.1 (59.2) |
Average low °C (°F) | 3.0 (37.4) |
3.9 (39.0) |
6.0 (42.8) |
8.5 (47.3) |
12.6 (54.7) |
16.0 (60.8) |
18.7 (65.7) |
18.7 (65.7) |
15.5 (59.9) |
11.6 (52.9) |
6.8 (44.2) |
4.1 (39.4) |
10.5 (50.9) |
Precipitation mm (inches) | 53.6 (2.11) |
43.5 (1.713) |
40.4 (1.591) |
57.9 (2.28) |
41.2 (1.622) |
25.4 (1) |
12.6 (0.496) |
31.4 (1.236) |
60.6 (2.386) |
85.4 (3.362) |
50.6 (1.992) |
52.0 (2.047) |
554.6 (21.835) |
Avg. precipitation days | 6.1 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 6.3 | 4.9 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 6.3 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 56.4 |
Sunshine hours | 150 | 155.5 | 215.1 | 244.8 | 292.5 | 326.2 | 366.4 | 327.4 | 254.3 | 204.5 | 155.5 | 143.3 | 2,835.5 |
Source: World Meteorological Organization (UN),[6] Meteo France[7] |
Humans have inhabited Marseille and its environs for almost 30,000 years: palaeolithic cave paintings in the underwater Cosquer cave near the calanque of Morgiou date back to between 27,000 and 19,000 BC; and very recent excavations near the railway station have unearthed neolithic brick habitations from around 6000 BC.[8][9]
Marseille, which can be called the oldest city in France, was founded in 600 BC by Greeks from Phocaea as a trading port under the name Μασσαλία (Massalia; see also List of traditional Greek place names). The connection between Μασσαλία and the Phoceans is mentioned in Book I, 13 of the History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides.[10] The precise circumstances and date of founding remain obscure, but nevertheless a legend survives. Protis, while exploring for a new trading outpost or emporion for Phocaea, discovered the Mediterranean cove of the Lacydon, fed by a freshwater stream and protected by two rocky promontories.[11] Protis was invited inland to a banquet held by the chief of the local Ligurian tribe for suitors seeking the hand of his daughter Gyptis in marriage. At the end of the banquet, Gyptis presented the ceremonial cup of wine to Protis, indicating her unequivocal choice. Following their marriage, they moved to the hill just to the north of the Lacydon; and from this settlement grew Massalia.[11]
Massalia was one of the first Greek ports in Western Europe,[12] growing to a population of over 1000. It was the first settlement given city status in France. Facing an opposing alliance of the Etruscans, Carthage and the Celts, the Greek colony allied itself with the expanding Roman Republic for protection. This protectionist association brought aid in the event of future attacks, and perhaps equally important, it also brought the people of Massalia into the complex Roman market. The city thrived by acting as a link between inland Gaul, hungry for Roman goods and wine (which Massalia was steadily exporting by 500 BC),[13][14] and Rome's insatiable need for new products and slaves. Under this arrangement the city maintained its independence until the rise of Julius Caesar, when it joined the losing side (Pompey and the optimates) in civil war, and lost its independence in 49 BC.
It was the site of a siege and naval battle, after which the fleet was confiscated by the Roman authorities. During Roman times the city was called Massilia. It was the home port of Pytheas. Most of the archaeological remnants of the original Greek settlement were replaced by later Roman additions.
Marseille adapted well to its new status under Rome. During the Roman era, the city was controlled by a directory of 15 selected "first" among 600 senators. Three of them had the preeminence and the essence of the executive power. The city's laws amongst other things forbade the drinking of wine by women and allowed, by a vote of the senators, assistance to a person to commit suicide.
It was during this time that Christianity first appeared in Marseille, as evidenced by catacombs above the harbour and records of Roman martyrs.[15] According to provencal tradition, Mary Magdalen evangelised Marseille with her brother Lazarus. The diocese of Marseille was set up in the 1st century (it became the Archdiocese of Marseille in 1948).
With the decline of the Roman Empire, the town fell into the hands of the Visigoths. Eventually Frankish kings succeeded in taking the town in the mid 6th century. Emperor Charlemagne and the Carolingian dynasty granted civic power to Marseille, which remained a major French trading port until the medieval period. The city regained much of its wealth and trading power when it was revived in the 10th century by the counts of Provence. In 1262, the city revolted under Bonifaci VI de Castellana and Hugues des Baux, cousin of Barral des Baux, against the rule of the Angevins but was put down by Charles I.[16][17] In 1348, the city suffered terribly from the bubonic plague, which continued to strike intermittently until 1361. As a major port, it is believed Marseille was one of the first places in France to encounter the epidemic, and some 15,000 people died in a city that had a population of 25,000 during its period of economic prosperity in the previous century.[18] The city's fortunes declined still further when it was sacked and pillaged by the Aragonese in 1423.
Marseille's population and trading status soon recovered and in 1437, the Count of Provence René of Anjou, who succeeded his father Louis II of Anjou as King of Sicily and Duke of Anjou, arrived in Marseille and established it as France's most fortified settlement outside of Paris.[20] He helped raise the status of the town to a city and allowed certain privileges to be granted to it. Marseille was then used by the Duke of Anjou as a strategic maritime base to reconquer his kingdom of Sicily. King René, who wished to equip the entrance of the port with a solid defense, decided to build on the ruins of the old Maubert tower and to establish a series of ramparts guarding the harbour. Jean Pardo, engineer, conceived the plans and Jehan Robert, mason of Tarascon, carried out the work. The construction of the new city defenses took place between 1447 and 1453.[21] Trading in Marseille also flourished as the Guild began to establish a position of power within the merchants of the city. Notably, René also founded the Corporation of Fisherman.
Marseille was united with Provence in 1481 and then incorporated in France the following year, but soon acquired a reputation for rebelling against the central government.[22] Some 30 years after its incorporation, Francis I visited Marseille, drawn by his curiosity to see a rhinoceros that King Manuel I of Portugal was sending to Pope Leo X, but which had been shipwrecked on the Île d'If. As a result of this visit, the fortress of Château d'If was constructed; this did little to prevent Marseille being placed under siege by the army of the Holy Roman Empire a few years later.[21] Marseille became a naval base for the Franco-Ottoman alliance in 1536, as a Franco-Turkish fleet was stationed in the harbour, threatening the Holy Roman Empire and especially Genoa.[23] Towards the end of the 16th century Marseille suffered yet another outbreak of the plague; the hospital of the Hôtel-Dieu was founded soon afterwards. A century later more troubles were in store: King Louis XIV himself had to descend upon Marseille, at the head of his army, in order to quash a local uprising against the governor.[24] As a consequence, the two forts of Saint-Jean and Saint-Nicholas were erected above the harbour and a large fleet and arsenal were established in the harbour itself.
Over the course of the 18th century, the port's defences were improved[25] and Marseille became more important as France's leading military port in the Mediterranean. In 1720, the last Great Plague of Marseille, a form of the Black Death, killed 100,000 people in the city and the surrounding provinces.[26] Jean-Baptiste Grosson, royal notary, wrote from 1770 to 1791 the historical Almanac of Marseille, published as Recueil des antiquités et des monuments marseillais qui peuvent intéresser l’histoire et les arts ("Collection of antiquities and Marseille monuments which can interest history and the arts"), which for a long time was the primary resource on the history of the monuments of the city.
The local population enthusiastically embraced the French Revolution and sent 500 volunteers to Paris in 1792 to defend the revolutionary government; their rallying call to revolution, sung on their march from Marseille to Paris, became known as La Marseillaise, now the national anthem of France.
During the 19th century the city was the site of industrial innovations and a growth in manufacturing. The rise of the French Empire and the conquests of France from 1830 onward (notably Algeria) stimulated the maritime trade and raised the prosperity of the city. Maritime opportunities also increased with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.[27] This period in Marseille's history is reflected in many of its monuments, such as the Napoleonic obelisk at Mazargues and the royal triumphal arch on the Place Jules Guesde.
During the first half of the 20th century, Marseille celebrated its 'port of the empire' status through the colonial exhibitions of 1906 and 1922;[28] the monumental staircase of the railway station, glorifying French colonial conquests, dates from then. In 1934 Alexander I of Yugoslavia arrived at the port to meet with the French foreign minister Louis Barthou. He was assassinated there by Vlado Chernozemski.
During the Second World War, Marseille was bombed by the German and the Italian forces in 1940. The city was occupied by Germans from November 1942 to August 1944. On 22 January 1943, over 4,000 Jews were seized in Marseilles as part of 'Action Tiger'. They were held in detention camps before being deported to Poland to be murdered.[29] The Old Port was bombed in 1944 by the Allies to prepare for liberation of France. After the war much of the city was rebuilt during the 1950s. The governments of East Germany, West Germany and Italy paid massive reparations, plus compound interest, to compensate civilians killed, injured or left homeless or destitute as a result of the war.
From the 1950s onward, the city served as an entrance port for over a million immigrants to France. In 1962 there was a large influx from the newly independent Algeria, including around 150,000 returned Algerian settlers (pieds-noirs).[30] Many immigrants have stayed and given the city a French-African quarter with a large market.
Year | 1793 | 1800 | 1806 | 1821 | 1831 | 1836 | 1841 | 1846 | 1851 | 1856 |
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Population | 108,374 | 96,413 | 99,169 | 109,483 | 145,115 | 145,239 | 154,035 | 183,186 | 195 258 | 233,817 |
Year | 1861 | 1866 | 1872 | 1876 | 1881 | 1886 | 1891 | 1896 | 1901 | 1906 |
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Population | 260,910 | 300,131 | 312,864 | 318,868 | 360,099 | 376.143 | 403,749 | 442 239 | 491,161 | 517,498 |
Year | 1911 | 1921 | 1926 | 1931 | 1936 | 1946 | 1954 | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 |
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Population | 550,619 | 586,341 | 652,196 | 800,881 | 914,232 | 636,264 | 661 407 | 778,071 | 889,029 | 908,600 |
Year | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2008 |
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Population | 874,436 | 800,550 | 798,430 | 851,420 |
Historically, the economy of Marseille was dominated by its role as a port of the French Empire, linking the North African colonies of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia with Metropolitan France. The Old Port was replaced as the main port for trade by the Port de la Joliette during the Second Empire and now contains restaurants, offices, bars and hotels and functions mostly as a private marina. The majority of the port and docks, which experienced decline in the 1970s after the oil crisis, have been recently redeveloped with funds from the European Union. Fishing, however, remains important in Marseille and the food economy of Marseille is still dominated by the local catch, and a daily fish market is still held on the Quai des Belges of the Old Port.
Today, the economy of Marseille is dominated by the New Port, which lies north of the Old Port, a commercial container port and a transport port for the Mediterranean sea. 100 million tons of freight pass annually through the port, 60% of which is petroleum, making it number one in France and the Mediterranean and number three in Europe. However, its recent growth in container traffic is being stifled by the constant strikes and social upheaval.[31] Petroleum refining and shipbuilding are the principal industries, but chemicals, soap, glass, sugar, building materials, plastics, textiles, olive oil, and processed foods are also important products. Marseille is connected with the Rhône via a canal and thus has access to the extensive waterway network of France. Petroleum is shipped northward to the Paris basin by pipeline. The city also serves as France's leading centre of oil refining.
Marseille is a major French centre for trade and industry, with excellent transportation infrastructure (roads, sea port and airport). Marseille Provence Airport, is the fourth largest in France. It is the main arrival base for millions of tourists each year and serves a growing business community. All three universities of Aix-Marseille—the University of Provence, the University of the Mediterranean and Paul Cézanne University—are represented to varying degrees in both Marseille and Aix-en-Provence, forming France's second largest research centre with 3,000 research scientists.
The Marseille region is home to thousands of companies, 90% of which are small businesses.[32] Among the most famous ones are CMA CGM, container-shipping giant; Compagnie maritime d'expertises (Comex), world leader in sub-sea engineering and hydraulic systems; Eurocopter Group, an EADS company; Azur Promotel, an active real estate development company; La Provence, the local daily newspaper; L'Olympique de Marseille, the famous football club; RTM, Marseille's public transport company; and Société Nationale Maritime Corse Méditerranée (SNCM), a major operator in passenger, vehicle and freight transportation in the Western Mediterranean.
In recent years, the city has also experienced a large growth in service sector employment and a switch from light manufacturing to a cultural, high-tech economy. Marseille acts as a regional nexus for entertainment in the south of France and has a high concentration of museums, cinemas, theaters, clubs, bars, restaurants, fashion shops, hotels, and art galleries, all geared towards a tourist economy.
In May 2005, the French financial magazine L'Expansion named Marseille the most dynamic of France's large cities, citing figures showing that 7,200 companies had been created in the city since 2000.[33]
Panoramic view
Unemployment in the economy fell from 20% in 1995 to 14% in 2004.[34] However Marseille unemployment rate remains higher than the national average. In some parts of Marseille, youth unemployment is reported to be as high as 40%.[35]
Marseille is divided into 16 municipal arrondissements, which are themselves informally divided into quartiers (111 in total). The arrondissements are regrouped in pairs, into 8 secteurs, each with a mayor and council (like the arrondissements in Paris and Lyon).[36]
Municipal elections are held every six years and are carried out by secteur. There are 303 councillors in total, two thirds sitting in the secteur councils and one third in the city council.
From 1950 to the mid 1990s, Marseille was a socialist and communist stronghold. The socialist Gaston Defferre was consecutively re-elected six times as Mayor of Marseille from 1953 until his death in 1986. He was succeeded by Robert Vigouroux of the RDSE. Jean-Claude Gaudin of the right-wing UMP was elected mayor in 1995. Gaudin won re-election in 2001 and 2008.
In recent years, the Communist Party has lost most of its strength in the northern boroughs of the city, whereas the far-right National Front has received significant support.
At the last municipal election in 2008, Marseille was divided between the northern boroughs dominated by the left and the more affluent southern Marseille, dominated by the right, with the centre and eastern parts of the city as battlegrounds, allowing for a narrow re-election of the UMP administration.
The cantons of Marseille :
Marseille is also divided in 25 cantons, each of them returning a member of the General Council of the Bouches-du-Rhône département.
250 BC | 1801 | 1851 | 1881 | 1911 | 1931 | 1946 | 1954 | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2007 |
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50,000 | 111,100 | 195,350 | 360,100 | 550,619 | 606,000 | 636,300 | 661,407 | 778,071 | 889,029 | 908,600 | 874,436 | 800,550 | 798,430 | 839,043 | 852,395 |
Because of its pre-eminence as a Mediterranean port, Marseille has always been one of the main gateways into France. This has attracted many immigrants and made Marseille a cosmopolitan melting pot. By the end of the 18th century about half the population originated from elsewhere in Provence mostly but also from southern France.[38][39]
Economic conditions and political unrest in Europe and the rest of the world brought several other waves of immigrants during the 20th century: Greeks and Italians started arriving at the end of the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century, up to 40% of the city's population was of Italian origin;[40] Russians in 1917; Armenians in 1915 and 1923; Corsicans during the 1930s; Spanish after 1936; North Africans (both Arab and Berber) in the inter-war period; Sub-saharan Africans after 1945; the pieds-noirs from the former French Algeria in 1962; and then from Comoros. In 2006, it was reported that 70,000 city residents were considered to be of Maghrebian origin, mostly from Algeria. The second largest group in Marseille in terms of single nationalities were from the Comoros, amounting to some 45,000 people.[40]
Currently, over one third of the population of Marseille can trace their roots back to Italy.[41] Marseille also has the second-largest Corsican and Armenian populations of France. Other significant communities include Maghrebis, Turks, Comorians, Chinese, and Vietnamese.[42]
In 1999, in several arrondissements, about 40% of the young people under 18 were of Maghrebi origin (at least one immigrant parent).[43]
Major religious communities in Marseille include Roman Catholic (600,000), Muslim (between 150,000 and 200,000), Armenian Apostolic (80,000), Jewish (80,000, making Marseille the third largest urban Jewish community in Europe), Protestant (20,000), Eastern Orthodox (10,000) and Buddhist (3,000).[44]
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Marseille has been designated as European Capital of Culture in 2013.[45]
Marseille is a city that is proud of its differences from the rest of France. Today it is a regional centre for culture and entertainment with an important opera house, historical and maritime museums, five art galleries and numerous cinemas, clubs, bars and restaurants.
Marseille has a large number of theatres, including la Criée, le Gymnase and the Théâtre Toursky. There is also an extensive arts centre in La Friche, a former match factory behind the St-Charles station. The Alcazar, until the 1960s a well known music-hall and variety theatre, has recently been completely remodelled behind its original façade and now houses the central municipal library.[46]
Marseille has also been important in the arts. It has been the birth place and home of many French writers and poets, including Victor Gélu, Valère Bernard, Pierre Bertas, Edmond Rostand and André Roussin. The small port of l'Estaque on the far end of the Bay of Marseille became a favourite haunt for artists, including Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne (who frequently visited from his home in Aix), Georges Braque and Raoul Dufy.
The most commonly used tarot deck takes his name from the city; it has been called the Tarot de Marseille since the 1930s—a name coined for commercial use by the French cardmaker and cartomancer Paul Marteau owner of B-P Grimaud. Previously this deck was called Tarot italien (Italian Tarot) and even earlier it was simply called Tarot. Before being de Marseille, it was used to play the local variant of tarocchi before it became used in cartomancy at the end of the 18th century, following the trend set by Antoine Court de Gébelin. The name Tarot de Marseille (Marteau used the name ancien Tarot de Marseille) was used by contrast to other types of Tarots such as Tarot de Besançon, those names were simply associated to cities where there were many cardmakers in the 18th century (previously several cities in France were involved in cardmaking).[47]
Another local tradition is the making of santons, small hand-crafted figurines for the traditional Provençal Christmas creche. Since 1803, starting on the last Sunday of November, there has been a Santon Fair in Marseille; it is currently held in the Cours d'Estienne d'Orves, a large square off the Vieux-Port.
Marseille's main cultural attraction was, since its creation at the end of the 18th century and until the late 1970s, the Opéra. Located near the Old Port and the Canebière, at the very heart of the city, its architectural style was comparable to the classical trend found in other opera houses built at the same time in Lyon and Bordeaux. In 1919, a fire almost completely destroyed the house, leaving only the stone colonnade and peristyle from the original façade.[48][49] The classical façade was restored and the opera house reconstructed in a predominantly Art Deco style, as the result of a major competition. Currently the Opéra de Marseille stages 6 or 7 operas each year.[50]
Since 1972 the Ballet national de Marseille has performed at the opera house; its director from its foundation to 1998 was Roland Petit.
Marseille is also well known in France for its hip hop music.[51] Bands like IAM originated from Marseille and initiated the rap phenomenon in France. Other known groups include Fonky Family, 3ème Oeil, and Psy4 de la rime.
Marseille has been the setting for many films, produced mostly in France or Hollywood. An account of films up to 2007 can be found in the book by the German writer Daniel Winkler.[57]
The popular French television series Plus belle la vie is set in an imaginary quartier, Le Mistral, of Marseille. It is filmed in the Belle de Mai quartier of Marseille.
Star Trek: Voyager mentions Marseille in several episodes. It is said to be a favourite city of Lt. Tom Paris who was "spending his time, drinking and playing pool in Sandrine's, a (fictional) waterfront bar."
Marseille is listed as a major centre of art and history. The city has many museums and galleries and there are many ancient buildings and churches of historical interest. Most of the attractions of Marseille (including shopping areas) are located in the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th arrondissements.
A number of the faculties of the three universities that comprise Aix-Marseille University are located in Marseille:
In addition Marseille has two grandes écoles:
The city is served by an international airport, Marseille Provence Airport, located in Marignane. The airport has two terminals. Terminal one, the main terminal of the airport contains halls 1,2,3 and 4 and serves as a base for French and international arrivals and departures. The newer terminal, referred to as MP2, is used for low-cost flights arriving and departing from Europe and North Africa.
An extensive network of motorways connects Marseille to the north and west (A7), Aix-en-Provence in the north (A51), Toulon (A50) and the French Riviera (A8) to the east.
Gare de Marseille Saint-Charles is Marseille's main railway station. It operates direct regional services to Aix-en-Provence, Briançon, Toulon, Avignon, Nice, Montpellier, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes, etc. Gare Saint-Charles is also one of the main terminal stations for the TGV in the south of France making Marseille reachable in three hours from Paris (a distance of over 750 km) and just over one and a half hours from Lyon. There are also direct TGV lines to Lille, Brussels, Nantes, Genève and Strasbourg.
There is a new long distance bus station adjacent to new modern extension to the Gare Saint-Charles with destinations mostly to other Bouches-du-Rhône towns, including buses to Aix-en-Provence, Cassis, La Ciotat and Aubagne.
Marseille has a large ferry terminal, the Gare Maritime, with services to Corsica, Sardinia, Algeria and Tunisia. A free ferry service on a quite different scale operates between the two opposite quays of the Old Port.
Marseille itself is connected by the Marseille Métro train system operated by the Régie des transports de Marseille (RTM). It consists of two lines: Line 1 (blue) between Castellane and La Rose opened in 1977 and Line 2 (red) between Sainte-Marguerite-Dromel and Bougainville opened between 1984 and 1987. An extension of the Line 1 from Castellane to La Timone was completed in 1992, another extension from La Timone to La Fourragère (2,5 km and 4 new stations) was opened in May 2010. The Métro system operates on a turnstile system, with tickets purchased at the nearby adjacent automated booths. Both lines of the Métro intersect at Gare Saint-Charles and Castellane.
An extensive bus network serves the city and suburbs of Marseille. The first phase of a new tramway,[65] going eastwards from the port towards St Barnabé, was opened in July 2007.
As in many other French cities, a short-term bicycle hire scheme nicknamed "Le vélo", free for trips of less than half an hour, has recently been put in place by the city council.[66]
The city boasts a wide variety of sports facilities and teams. The most popular team is the city's football club, Olympique de Marseille, which was the UEFA Champions League winner in 1993 and finalist of the UEFA Cup in 1999 and 2004. The club had a history of success under then-owner Bernard Tapie, and they are the reigning French champions. The club's home, the Stade Vélodrome, which can sit 60,000 people,also functions for other local sports, as well as the national rugby team. Stade Velodrome hosted a number of games during the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The local rugby team is Marseille Vitrolles Rugby.
Sailing is a major sport in Marseille. The wind conditions allow regattas in the warm waters of the Mediterranean. Throughout most seasons of the year it can be windy while the sea remains smooth enough to allow sailing. Marseille has been the host of 8 (2010) Match Race France events which are part of the World Match Racing Tour. The event draws the world's best sailing teams to Marseille. The identical supplied boats (J Boats J-80 racing yachts) are raced two at a time in an on the water dogfight which tests the sailors and skippers to the limits of their physical abilities. Points accrued count towards the World Match Racing Tour and a place in the final event, with the overall winner taking the title ISAF World Match Racing Tour Champion. Match racing is an ideal sport for spectators in Marseille, as racing in close proximity to the shore provides excellent views. The city was also considered as a possible venue for 2007 America's Cup.[67]
Marseille is also a place for other water sports such as windsurfing and powerboating. Marseille has three golf courses. The city has dozens of gyms and several public swimming pools. Running is also popular in many of Marseille's parks such as Le Pharo and Le Jardin Pierre Puget. An annual footrace is held between the city and neighbouring Cassis: the Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale.
Marseille was the birthplace of:
The following personalities died in Marseille:
Marseille is currently officially twinned with 13 cities:[71]
In addition Marseille has signed various types of formal agreements of cooperation with 31 cities all over the world:[73]
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