Marseille is a city located in southern France within the Provence region. It serves as the prefecture of the Bouches-du-Rhône department and is situated on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea near the mouth of the Rhône river.
As of 2023, Marseille is the second-most populous city proper in France after Paris, with a population of 886,040 inhabitants over a municipal territory of 241 km2. The broader Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, which includes the cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence along with 90 suburban municipalities, has a total population of 1,939,077.