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89-644: The river Valserine ( French pronunciation: [valsəʁin] ) is a tributary of the Rhône that flows for 47.6 kilometres (29.6 mi) from the Col de la Faucille in the Jura Mountains to its confluence with the Rhône at Bellegarde-sur-Valserine . The Valserine Valley has great charm; it includes the Pont des Pierres that spans the river between Montanges and Mulaz (in the commune of Confort ), as well as

178-528: 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 . 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:

267-463: A 149 km (93 mi) section of the Rhône was made navigable for small ships up to Seyssel . As of 2017 , the part between Lyon and Sault-Brénaz is closed for navigation. The Saône, which is also canalized, connects the Rhône ports to the cities of Villefranche-sur-Saône , Mâcon and Chalon-sur-Saône . Smaller vessels (up to CEMT class I ) can travel further northwest, north and northeast via

356-449: A cultural, high-tech economy. The Marseille region is home to thousands of companies, 90% of which are small and medium enterprises with less than 500 employees. Among the most famous are CMA CGM , container-shipping giant; Compagnie maritime d'expertises (Comex), a leader in sub-sea engineering and hydraulic systems; Airbus Helicopters , an Airbus division; Azur Promotel, an active real estate development company; La Provence ,

445-498: A huge toothed "claw"wheel 6.5 metres (21 ft) across to grip the river bed in the shallows to supplement the paddle wheels. In the 20th century, powerful motor barges propelled by diesel engines were introduced, carrying 1,500 tonnes (3,300,000 lb). In 1933, the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR) was established to improve navigation and generate electricity, also to develop irrigated agriculture and to protect

534-641: A major center for immigrant communities from former French colonies in Africa, such as French Algeria . 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. 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

623-597: A series of dams and diversion canals, with a navigation lock beside the hydroelectric power plant on each of these canals. The locks were up to 23 metres (75 ft) deep. After building the Génissiat dam on the Upper Rhône (with no lock) in 1948, designed to meet the electricity needs of Paris, twelve hydroelectric plants and locks were built between 1964 and 1980. With a total head of 162 m (531 ft), they produce 13 GWh of electricity annually, or 16% of

712-542: 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

801-583: Is 251 cubic metres per second (8,900 cu ft/s). Below the dam, the Rhône receives the waters of the Arve , fed by the Mont Blanc massif, with a visibly higher sediment load and much lower temperature. After a total of 290 kilometres (180 mi) in Switzerland, the Rhône continues west, entering France and the southern Jura Mountains . It turns toward the south, past Lac de Bourget , which

890-614: Is a city in southern France , the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region . Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea , near the mouth of the Rhône river. Marseille is the second-most populous city in France, after Paris , with 873,076 inhabitants in 2021 . Marseille with its suburbs and exurbs create

979-466: Is a city that has its own unique culture and 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

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1068-593: Is also an extensive arts centre in La Friche , a former match factory behind the Saint-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. Other music venues in Marseille include Le Silo (also a theatre) and GRIM . Marseille has also been important in

1157-511: Is also an important arrival base for millions of people each year, with 2.4 million including 890,100 from cruise ships. With its beaches, history, architecture and culture (24 museums and 42 theatres), Marseille is one of the most visited cities in France, with 4.1 million visitors in 2012. They take place in three main sites, the Palais du Pharo , Palais des Congrès et des Expositions (Parc Chanot) and World Trade Center. In 2012 Marseille hosted

1246-463: Is divided into 16 municipal arrondissements , which are themselves informally divided into 111 neighbourhoods (French: quartiers ). The arrondissements are regrouped in pairs, into 8 sectors, each with a mayor and council (like the arrondissements in Paris and Lyon ). Municipal elections are held every six years and are carried out by sector. There are 303 councilmembers in total, two-thirds sitting in

1335-585: Is fed by the local catch; a daily fish market is still held on the Quai des Belges of the Old Port. The economy of Marseille and its region is still linked to its commercial port, the first French port and the fifth European port by cargo tonnage , which lies north of the Old Port and eastern in Fos-sur-Mer . Some 45,000 jobs are linked to the port activities and it represents €4 billion of added value to

1424-553: Is how Marseille responded in 2005, when ethnic populations living in other French cities' suburbs rioted , but Marseille remained relatively calm. Marseille served as the European Capital of Culture for 2013 along with Košice . It was chosen to give a 'human face' to the European Union to celebrate cultural diversity and to increase understanding between Europeans. One of the intentions of highlighting culture

1513-571: Is thought it may come from Ancient Ligurian , which was the local language before the arrival of the Greeks. Forms of the name include: Marseille is 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 fjord -like inlets. Farther east still are

1602-488: Is to help reposition Marseille internationally, stimulate the economy, and help to build better interconnection between groups. Marseille-Provence 2013 (MP2013) featured more than 900 cultural events held throughout Marseille and the surrounding communities. These cultural events generated more than 11 million visits. The European Capital of Culture was also the occasion to unveil more than 600 million euros in new cultural infrastructure in Marseille and its environs, including

1691-522: The Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis , with a population of 1,911,311 at the 2021 census. 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 . It was known to the ancient Greeks as Massalia ( Greek : Μασσαλία , romanized :  Massalía ) and to Romans as Massilia . Marseille has been

1780-607: The Bouches-du-Rhône department . 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 and also from southern France. Economic conditions and political unrest in Europe and

1869-875: The Centre -Loire-Briare and Loing Canals to the Seine , via the Canal de la Marne à la Saône (recently often called the " Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne ") to the Marne , via the Canal des Vosges (formerly called the "Canal de l'Est – Branche Sud") to the Moselle and via the Canal du Rhône au Rhin to the Rhine . The Rhône is infamous for its strong current when the river carries large quantities of water: current speeds up to 10 km/h (6.2 mph) are sometimes reached, particularly in

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1958-699: 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 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

2047-525: The MuCEM designed by Rudy Ricciotti . Early on, immigrants came to Marseille locally from the surrounding Provence region. By the 1890s immigrants came from other regions of France as well as Italy. Marseille became one of Europe's busiest ports by 1900. Marseille has served as a major port where immigrants from around the Mediterranean arrive. Marseille continued to be multicultural. Armenians from

2136-586: The Sainte-Baume (a 1,147 m (3,763 ft) mountain ridge rising from a forest of deciduous trees), the city 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 ; farther west are the Côte Bleue ,

2225-872: The Swiss Alps , at an altitude of approximately 2,208 metres (7,244 ft). From there it flows southwest through Gletsch and the Goms, the uppermost valley region of the Valais before Brig . In the Brig area, it receives the waters of the Massa from the Aletsch Glacier , the longest glacier of the Alps, and shortly after, it receives the waters of the Vispa , the longest affluent in Valais. After that, it flows onward through

2314-823: The Swiss canton of Valais . The glacier is part of the Saint-Gotthard Massif , which gives rise to three other major rivers: the Reuss , Rhine and Ticino . The Rhône is, with the Po and the Nile , one of the three Mediterranean rivers with the largest water discharge . The name Rhône continues the Latin Rhodanus name ( Greek Ῥοδανός Rhodanós ) in Greco-Roman geography . The Gaulish name of

2403-481: The World Water Forum . Several urban projects have been developed to make Marseille attractive. Thus new parks, museums, public spaces and real estate projects aim to improve the city's quality of life ( Parc du 26e Centenaire , Old Port of Marseille , numerous places in Euroméditerranée ) to attract firms and people. Marseille municipality acts to develop Marseille as a regional nexus for entertainment in

2492-481: 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 . A resident of Marseille is a Marseillais . The name of Marseille is of unknown ultimate origin, but it

2581-701: The inter-war period ; Sub-Saharan Africans after 1945; Maghrebi Jews in the 1950s and 1960s; the Pieds-Noirs from the former French Algeria in 1962; and then from Comoros . At the 2019 census, 81.4% of the inhabitants of the Marseille metropolitan area were natives of Metropolitan France , 0.6% were born in Overseas France , and 18.0% were born in foreign countries (two-fifth of whom French citizens from birth, in particular Pieds-Noirs from Algeria arrived in Metropolitan France after

2670-662: 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

2759-579: The 18th century (previously several cities in France were involved in cardmaking). 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

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2848-659: The Alps. From Lyon, the Rhône flows south, in its large valley between the Alps and the Massif Central . At Arles , the Rhône divides into two major arms forming the Camargue delta , both branches flowing into the Mediterranean Sea, the delta being termed the Rhône Fan. The larger arm is called the "Grand Rhône", the smaller the "Petit Rhône". The average annual discharge at Beaucaire is 1,700 m /s (60,000 cu ft/s). The main tributaries of

2937-582: The Centre Bourse in the 1st arrondissement; it is linked by the Boulevard d'Athènes to the Canebière. The city has a hot-summer mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csa ) with cool-mild winters with moderate rainfall, because of the wet westerly winds, and hot, mostly dry summers. December, January, and February are the coldest months, averaging temperatures of around 12 °C (54 °F) during

3026-626: The Fête du Panier in June. On 21 June, there are dozens of free concerts in the city as part of France's Fête de la Musique , featuring music from all over the world. Being free events, many Marseille residents attend. Marseille hosts a Gay Pride event in early July. In 2013, Marseille hosted Europride , an international LGBT event, 10 July–20. At the beginning of July, there is the International Documentary Festival. At

3115-555: The Mediterranean. Nearby, people sell fresh fish and men from Tunisia drink tea. Although most Armenians arrived after the Armenian Genocide , Armenians had a long presence even before the 20th and late 19th centuries. Armenians, having an extensive trade network worldwide, massively traded with Marseille and its port. Most notably, during the 16th century, and after the Armenians gained a monopoly over Iranian silk, which

3204-791: The Morge and Hermance, the lake is divided by the two countries along its centreline, with the left bank in France. The remainder of the lake is Swiss, including the entire right (north) bank. Here, the tributaries are the Veveyse , the Venoge , the Aubonne , the Morges , among other smaller rivers. Lake Geneva ends in the city of Geneva , where the lake level is controlled by the Le Seujet dam  [ fr ] . The average discharge from Lake Geneva

3293-743: 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 and 8th arrondissements , dominated by the basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde . Marseille's main railway station— Gare de Marseille Saint-Charles —is north of

3382-402: The Ottoman Empire began arriving in 1913. In the 1930s, Italians settled in Marseille. After World War II, a wave of Jewish immigrants from North Africa arrived. In 1962, a number of French colonies gained their independence, and the French citizens from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia arrived in Marseille. The city had an economic downturn and lost many jobs. Those who could afford to move left and

3471-413: The Pertes de la Valserine just north of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, a canyon in which during the dry season the Valserine runs underground. As the river flows through the village of Mijoux , it marks the border between Ain (a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region ) and Jura (in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté ). Rh%C3%B4ne The river's source is the Rhône Glacier , at the east edge of

3560-425: The Port de la Joliette (now part of Marseille-Fos Port ) 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 remains important in Marseille and the food economy of Marseille

3649-487: The Rhône are, from source to mouth: The Rhône has been an important highway since the times of the Greeks and Romans . It was the main trade route from the Mediterranean to east-central Gaul . As such, it helped convey Greek cultural influences to the western Hallstatt and the later La Tène cultures. Celtic tribes living near the Rhône included the Seduni , Sequani, Segobriges , Allobroges , Segusiavi , Helvetii , Vocontii and Volcae Arecomici . Navigation

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3738-407: The Rhône drains via the Canal de Savières . Continuing generally westward, the Rhône then receives the waters of the Valserine , enters the reservoir created by the Génissiat Dam , and is then joined by the Ain . Reaching Lyon , the most populous city on its course, the Rhône receives its biggest tributary, the Saône , with an average flow of 473 m /s (16,700 cu ft/s), compared to

3827-486: The Rhône's 600 m /s (21,000 cu ft/s) at this point. From this confluence, the Rhône follows a southward course. Along the Rhône Valley, it is joined on the right (western) bank by the rivers Eyrieux , Ardèche , Cèze , and Gardon coming from the Cévennes mountains ; and on the left bank by the rivers Isère , (with an average discharge of 333 m /s (11,800 cu ft/s)), Drôme , Ouvèze , and Durance (188 m /s (6,600 cu ft/s)) from

3916-403: The Roman Siege of Massilia in 49 BC, during Caesar's Civil War , in which Massalia sided with the exiled faction at war with Julius Caesar . Afterward, the Gallo-Roman culture was initiated. The city maintained its position as a premier maritime trading hub even after its capture by the Visigoths in the fifth century AD, although the city went into decline following the sack of AD 739 by

4005-466: The Sahara. Snowfalls are infrequent; over 50% of years do not experience a single snowfall. The hottest temperature was 40.6 °C (105.1 °F) on 26 July 1983 during a great heat wave, the lowest temperature was −16.8 °C (1.8 °F) on 13 February 1929 during a strong cold wave. Marseille was founded as the Greek colony of Massalia c.  600 BC , and was populated by Greek settlers from Phocaea (modern Foça , Turkey). It became

4094-430: The adjective derived from the river is rhodanien , as in le sillon rhodanien (literally "the furrow of the Rhône"), which is the name of the long, straight Saône and Rhône river valleys, a deep cleft running due south to the Mediterranean and separating the Alps from the Massif Central . Before railroads and highways were developed, the Rhône was an important inland trade and transportation route, connecting

4183-493: The arts. It has been the birthplace and home of many French writers and poets, including Victor Gélu  [ fr ] , 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 . Rich and poor neighborhoods exist side by side. Although

4272-418: The average sunshine in the country is around 1,950 hours. It is also the driest major city with only 532.3 mm (21 in) of precipitation annually, mainly due to the mistral , a cold, dry wind originating in the Rhône Valley that occurs mostly in winter and spring and which generally brings clear skies and sunny weather to the region. Less frequent is the sirocco , a hot, sand-bearing wind, coming from

4361-421: The capacity to 2 million TEU. 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. In recent years, the city has also experienced a large growth in service sector employment and a switch from light manufacturing to

4450-443: The cities of Arles , Avignon , Valence , Vienne and Lyon to the Mediterranean ports of Fos-sur-Mer , Marseille and Sète . Travelling down the Rhône by barge would take three weeks. By motorized vessel, the trip now takes only three days. The Rhône is classified as a Class V waterway for the 325 km-long (202-mile) section from the mouth of the Saône at Lyon to the sea at Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône . Upstream from Lyon,

4539-430: The city is not without crime, Marseille has a larger degree of multicultural tolerance. Urban geographers say the city's geography, being surrounded by mountains, helps explain why Marseille does not have the same problems as Paris. In Paris, ethnic areas are segregated and concentrated in the periphery of the city. Residents of Marseille are of diverse origins, yet appear to share a similar particular identity. An example

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4628-413: The city since 2000. As of 2019 , the Marseille metropolitan area had a GDP amounting to US$ 81.4 billion , or US$ 43,430 per capita (purchasing power parity). 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

4717-399: The city, whereas the National Front has received significant support. At the last municipal election in 2014, Marseille was divided between the northern arrondissements dominated by the left (PS) and far-right (FN) and the southern part of town dominated by the conservative (UMP). Marseille is also divided in twelve cantons , each of them sending two members to the Departmental Council of

4806-433: The city. Due to these policies and the multiculturalism of the city of Marseille, Armenians became very wealthy, and the legacy of the Armenians in the city still lives on. The most commonly used tarot deck takes its 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

4895-402: The country's total hydroelectric production (20% if the Upper Rhône schemes are added). There have been significant benefits for agriculture throughout the Rhône valley. With the Lower Rhône project completed, CNR turned its attention to the Haut-Rhône (Upper Rhône), and built four hydropower dams in the 1980s: Sault-Brénaz, Brégnier-Cordon, Belley-Brens and Chautagne. It also drew up plans for

4984-461: The day and 4 °C (39 °F) at night. July and August are the hottest months, averaging temperatures of around 28–30 °C (82–86 °F) during the day and 19 °C (66 °F) at night in the Marignane airport [35 km (22 mi) from Marseille] but in the city near the sea the average high temperature is 27 °C (81 °F) in July. Marseille receives the most sunlight of any French city, 2,897.6 hours per year on average, while

5073-425: The end of September, the electronic music festival Marsatac takes place. In October, the Fiesta des Suds offers many concerts of world music. Marseille is also well known in France for its hip hop music . Bands like IAM originated from Marseille. Other known groups include Fonky Family , Psy 4 de la Rime (including rappers Soprano and Alonzo ), and Keny Arkana . In a slightly different way, ragga music

5162-438: 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. The classical façade

5251-428: The forces of Charles Martel against the Umayyad Arabs . It became part of the County of Provence during the tenth century, although its renewed prosperity was curtailed by the Black Death of the 14th century and a sack of the city by the Crown of Aragon in 1423. The city's fortunes rebounded with the ambitious building projects of René of Anjou , Count of Provence, who strengthened the city's fortifications during

5340-520: The high-capacity Rhine-Rhône Waterway, along the route of the existing Canal du Rhône au Rhin , but this project was abandoned in 1997. In the period from 2005 to 2010, navigation locks of small barge dimensions (40 by 6 m) were built to bypass the last two, forming a navigable waterway network with Lake Bourget, through the Canal de Savières . Cities and towns along the Rhône include: Marseille Marseille or Marseilles ( French : Marseille ; Provençal Occitan : Marselha ; see below )

5429-412: The historical region of Chablais . It then enters Lake Geneva near Le Bouveret , where the water flows west. On the left (south) bank of Lake Geneva, the river Morge joins at the village of Saint-Gingolph , and also marks the French-Swiss border. Westward, the Dranse (unrelated to the Drance) enters the lake with its preserved delta , and then the Hermance marks another French-Swiss border. Between

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5518-463: The independence of Algeria in 1962). A quarter of the immigrants living in the Marseille metropolitan area were born in Europe (half of them in Italy, Portugal, and Spain), 46% were born in the Maghreb (almost two-third of them in Algeria), 14% in the rest of Africa (almost half of them in the Indian Ocean islands of Comoros , Madagascar , and Mauritius , not counting those born in Réunion and Mayotte who are not legally immigrants), and 15.0% in

5607-433: The large glaciers of the massifs of Monte Rosa , Dom , and Grand Combin , but also from the steeper slopes of the Bernese Alps to the north, and the Mont Blanc massif to the west. As a result, the Rhône Valley experiences a drier climate than the rest of Switzerland , being sheltered by the three highest ranges of the Alps, making Valais the driest and largest wine region of the country. At Martigny, where it receives

5696-589: The local daily newspaper ; RTM, Marseille's public transport company; and Société Nationale Maritime Corse Méditerranée (SNCM), a major provider of passenger, vehicle and freight transportation in the Western Mediterranean. The urban operation Euroméditerranée has developed a large offer of offices and thus Marseille hosts one of the main business district in France. Marseille is the home of three main technopoles : Château-Gombert (technological innovations), Luminy (biotechnology) and La Belle de Mai (17,000 sq.m. of offices dedicated to multimedia activities). The port

5785-459: The mid-15th century. During the 16th century, the city hosted a naval fleet with the combined forces of the Franco-Ottoman alliance , which threatened the ports and navies of the Genoese Republic . Marseille lost a significant portion of its population during the Great Plague of Marseille in 1720, but the population had recovered by mid-century. In 1792, the city became a focal point of the French Revolution , and though France's national anthem

5874-476: The north. Farther 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 (one of the city's main shopping malls). The centre of Marseille has several pedestrianised zones, most notably Rue St Ferréol, Cours Julien near

5963-407: 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. Since its origins, Marseille's openness to the Mediterranean Sea has made it

6052-512: The poorest remained. For a while, the mafia appeared to run the city, and for a period of time the communist party was prominent. Multi-cultural Marseille can be observed by a visitor at the market at Noailles, also called Marché des Capucins, in old town near the Old Port. There, Lebanese bakeries, an African spice market, Chinese and Vietnamese groceries, fresh vegetables and fruit, shops selling couscous, shops selling Caribbean food are side by side with stalls selling shoes and clothing from around

6141-401: The preeminent Greek polis in the Hellenized region of southern Gaul . The city-state sided with the Roman Republic against Carthage during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), retaining its independence and commercial empire throughout the western Mediterranean even as Rome expanded its empire into Western Europe and North Africa . However, the city lost its independence following

6230-438: The reconstructed Gaulish name is masculine, as is French le Rhône . This form survives in the Spanish/Portuguese and Italian namesakes, el/o Ródano and il Rodano , respectively. German has adopted the French name but given it the feminine gender, die Rhone . The original German adoption of the Latin name was also masculine, der Rotten ; it survives only in the Upper Valais ( dialectal Rottu ). In French,

6319-451: The regional economy. 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, in the early 2000s, the growth in container traffic was being stifled by the constant strikes and social upheaval. The port is among the 20th firsts in Europe for container traffic with 1,062,408 TEU and new infrastructure has already raised

6408-950: The rest of the world (not counting those born in the French overseas departments of the Americas and in the French territories of the South Pacific, who are not legally immigrants). In 2002, about one third of the population of Marseille can trace their roots back to Italy. Marseille also has the second-largest Corsican and Armenian populations of France. Other significant communities include Maghrebis , Turks , Comorians , Chinese, and Vietnamese . The largest immigrant communities (including descendants) in 2002 were Italians (290,000 Italians, or 33%), then Muslims - mainly Maghrebis (200,000 Muslims, or 23%), then Corsicans (100,000 Corsicans, or 11.5%), then Armenians (80,000 Armenians, or 9%). In 1999, in several arrondissements, about 40% of

6497-453: 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; Russians in 1917; Armenians in 1915 and 1923; Vietnamese in the 1920s, 1954 and after 1975; Corsicans during the 1920s and 1930s; Spanish after 1936; Maghrebis (both Arab and Berber ) in

6586-449: The river was * Rodonos or * Rotonos (from a PIE root * ret- "to run, roll" frequently found in river names). Names in other languages include German : Rhone [ˈroːnə] ; Walser : Rotten [ˈrotən] ; Italian : Rodano [ˈrɔːdano] ; Arpitan : Rôno [ˈʁono] ; Occitan : Ròse [ˈrɔze, ˈʀɔze] ; and Romansh : Rodan . The Greco-Roman as well as

6675-508: The riverside towns and land from flooding. Some progress was made in deepening the navigation channel and constructing scouring walls, but World War II brought such work to a halt. In 1942, following the collapse of Vichy France , Italian military forces occupied southeastern France up to the eastern banks of the Rhône, as part of the Italian Fascist regime's expansionist agenda. In 1948, the French government started construction of

6764-404: The sector councils and one third in the city council. The 9th arrondissement of Marseille is the largest in terms of area because it comprises parts of Calanques National Park . With a population of 89,316 (2007), the 13th arrondissement of Marseille is the most populous one. From 1950 to the mid-1990s, Marseille was a Socialist (PS) and Communist (PCF) stronghold. Gaston Defferre (PS)

6853-400: The south of France with high concentration of museums, cinemas, theatres, clubs, bars, restaurants, fashion shops, hotels, and art galleries . Unemployment in the economy fell from 20% in 1995 to 14% in 2004. 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%. The city of Marseille

6942-530: The stretch below the last lock at Vallabrègues and in the relatively narrow first diversion canal south of Lyon. The 12 locks are operated daily from 5:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. All operation is centrally controlled from one control centre at Châteauneuf. Commercial barges may navigate during the night hours by authorisation. The Rhône begins as the meltwater of the Rhône Glacier in Valais , in

7031-412: The upper river used barques du Rhône , sailing barges, 30 by 3.5 metres (98 by 11 ft), with a 75-tonne (165,000 lb) capacity. As many as 50 to 80 horses were employed to haul trains of five to seven craft upstream. Goods would be transshipped at Arles into 23-metre (75 ft) sailing barges called allèges d'Arles for the final run down to the Mediterranean. The first experimental steam boat

7120-490: The valley which bears its name and runs initially in a westerly direction about thirty kilometers to Leuk , then southwest about fifty kilometers to Martigny . Down as far as Brig , the Rhône is a torrent; it then becomes a great mountain river running southwest through a glacial valley. Between Brig and Martigny , it collects waters mostly from the valleys of the Pennine Alps to the south, whose rivers originate from

7209-526: The waters of the Drance on its left bank, the Rhône makes a sharp turn towards the north. Heading toward Lake Geneva ( French : Le Léman ), the valley narrows near Saint-Maurice , a feature that has long given the Rhône valley strategic importance for the control of the Alpine passes. The Rhône then marks the boundary between the cantons of Valais (left bank) and Vaud (right bank), separating two parts of

7298-435: The young people under 18 were of Maghrebi origin (at least one immigrant parent). Since 2013 a significant number of Central- and Eastern European immigrants have settled in Marseille, attracted by better job opportunities and the good climate of this Mediterranean city. The main nationalities of the immigrants are Romanian and Polish. According to data from 2010, major religious communities in Marseille include: Marseille

7387-738: Was born in Strasbourg , it was first sung in Paris by volunteers from Marseille, hence the name the crowd gave it: La Marseillaise . The Industrial Revolution and establishment of the Second French colonial empire during the 19th century allowed for the further expansion of the city, although it was occupied by the German Wehrmacht in November 1942 and subsequently heavily damaged during World War II . The city has since become

7476-433: Was built at Lyon by Jouffroy d'Abbans in 1783. Regular services were not started until 1829 and they continued until 1952. Steam passenger vessels 80 to 100 metres (260–330 ft) long made up to 20 km/h (11 kn) and could do the downstream run from Lyon to Arles in a day. Cargo was hauled in bateau-anguilles , boats 157 by 6.35 metres (515.1 by 20.8 ft) with paddle wheels amidships, and bateaux crabes ,

7565-535: 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 with cities where there were many cardmakers in

7654-551: Was consecutively reelected six times as Mayor of Marseille from 1953 until his death in 1986. He was succeeded by Robert Vigouroux of the European Democratic and Social Rally (RDSE). Jean-Claude Gaudin of the conservative UMP was elected Mayor of Marseille in 1995. Gaudin was reelected in 2001, 2008 and 2014. In recent years, the Communist Party has lost most of its strength in the northern boroughs of

7743-404: Was difficult, as the river suffered from fierce currents, shallows, floods in spring and early summer when the ice was melting, and droughts in late summer. Until the 19th century, passengers travelled in coches d'eau (water coaches) drawn by men or horses, or under sail. Most travelled with a painted cross covered with religious symbols as protection against the hazards of the journey. Trade on

7832-465: Was granted to them by Shah Abbas of Iran, the trade flow of Armenians of Marseille increased tremendously. Merchants of Armenian origin received trade privileges in France by Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (1585–1642) and later on Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619–1683) Marseille a free port in 1669. One notable Armenian-Iranian merchant gained a patent from Louis XIV (1638–1715) over Iranian silk. Armenians also became successful money-lenders and bankers in

7921-557: 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 six or seven operas each year. Since 1972, the Ballet national de Marseille has performed at the opera house; its director from its foundation to 1998 was Roland Petit . There are several popular festivals in different neighborhoods, with concerts, animations, and outdoor bars, like

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