Францияның Оңтүстік-Шығыс Аймағы: Прованс-Альпы-Көгілдір Жағалау

Administrative region of France

Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur (pʁɔvɑ̃s alp kot dazyʁ; commonly shortened to PACA; ; Provence Alps French Riviera), also known as Région Sud (Southern Region), is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its prefecture and largest city is Marseille.

The region is roughly coterminous with the former French province of Provence, with the addition of the following adjacent areas: the former papal territory of Avignon, known as Comtat Venaissin; the former Sardinian Piedmontese County of Nice annexed in 1860, whose coastline is known in English as the French Riviera and in French as the Côte d'Azur; and the southeastern part of the former French province of Dauphiné, in the French Alps. Previously known by the acronym PACA, the region adopted the name Région Sud as a commercial name or nickname in December 2017.

It encompasses six departments in Southeastern France: Alpes de Haute Provence, Alpes Maritimes, Bouches du Rhône, Hautes Alpes, Var and Vaucluse. It is bounded to the east by the France–Italy border, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea and by the Principality of Monaco, to the north by Auvergne Rhône Alpes and to the west by Occitanie, with the Rhône marking its westernmost border. According to the 2015 census, 5,007,977 people live in the region.

The region logotype displays the coat of arms created in the 1990s and which combines the coats of arms of the old provinces making up Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur. The region's economy is the third largest in France, just behind Île de France and Auvergne Rhône Alpes. Its GDP in 2015 was €168.2 billion (US$190.5 billion) while its per capita GDP was €30,863 (US$34,950).

As of 2018, the population of the region was 5,052,832; Marseille and its metropolitan area is the most populous in the region with a city population of 868,277, an urban population of 1,607,292 and a metropolitan population of 1,863,762. Marseille is the second largest city in France after Paris, and has the third largest metropolitan population, behind those of Paris and Lyon respectively. Nice is host to the second largest population concentration in the region, with a city population of 344,875 and an urban population of 1,005,230, making it the fifth most populous city in France.

According to a 2009 study, nearly 40% of all newborns in Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur in 2007 had at least one parent of an immigrant background, mostly Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Maghrebi. This is the second highest rate after Île de France (Greater Paris), where the figure was around 56%. Since the 1960s, the region has been a major immigration centre from France and into France, mostly due to Northern French and to Mediterranean immigration from countries such as Portugal, Spain, Italy, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.

This region has a total area of It has a wide variety of landscapes, from the Alps mountains to plains, lakes such as the Gignoux Lake, and coastal areas like Nice and Marseille, which form the majority of the land area. The region has a Mediterranean coastline on the south, on which the majority of its population lives. It borders Italy (Liguria and Piedmont) to the east, Monaco (Fontvieille, La Colle, La Rousse, Larvotto, Les Moneghetti, Les Révoires, Saint Michel) in the south east, and the French regions of Auvergne Rhone Alpes to the north and Occitanie to the west. The Rhône, Durance, Var and Arc rivers run through the region. The borders were unaffected by the 2016 French regional reforms. This region is famous for the Côte d'Azur (French Riviera), which spans the coastal cities of Nice, Saint Laurent du Var, Antibes, Juan les Pins, Cannes, Mandelieu la Napoule, Fréjus, Saint Raphaël, Sainte Maxime and Saint Tropez; and on the Rhône river, the city of Avignon which is surrounded by medieval stone walls.

The Regional Council of Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur is the legislative body (assemblée délibérante) of the region. The President of the Regional Council has been Renaud Muselier formerly of The Republicans (LR) since 2017.

In the recent years, The Republicans have gained strong support in the region. Following the 2015 regional election, the party took control of the regional executive, which had been previously controlled by the Socialist Party (PS). Christian Estrosi succeeded Michel Vauzelle as President of the Regional Council. The 2015 election was also a show of force for the National Front (FN), led by Marion Maréchal Le Pen, which garnered over 45% of the vote in the second round. The Socialist Party lost all representation at the regional level. The French Communist Party (PCF) historically had several strongholds in the region from the 1920s onward, including Aubagne, Draguignan, La Ciotat, Beausoleil, Martigues, Gardanne, Arles as well as some suburbs of Marseille, although not enough to win regional elections; the party usually received about 10% of the vote. In the 2002 presidential election, this declined to 4%. In 2007, it dropped below 2%. Nowadays the main competition in regional politics is between the right wing The Republicans and the far right National Rally (formerly National Front). In the second round of the 2021 regional election, The Republicans received 57.3% of the vote against the National Rally's 42.7% with a list led by Thierry Mariani. The Socialist Party, present in the first round on a joint list led by Europe Ecology – The Greens, failed again to win any seats. The 2022 presidential election marked the first time a far right candidate won a majority of the vote in the second round in Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur. Marine Le Pen won a majority of the vote in three of the six departments (55.1% in Var, 52% in Vaucluse and 51.5% in Alpes de Haute Provence); her respective scores in the remaining three (49.9% in Alpes Maritimes, 47.9% in Bouches du Rhône and 44.9% in Hautes Alpes) were superior to her national total (41.5%).

The regional income per capita is close to the French national average. Income inequality however is higher than in other regions: it is ranked the 2nd region most marked by inequalities after Île de France. The region is ranked fifth by GDP (as of 2016). Between 2007 and 2011, the region registered an average annual growth rate of 1.6% of GDP (Eurostat), close to the national average annual growth rate of 1.5%. Representing 7.2% of the national GDP over the period, the region is an important economic powerhouse. In 2013, the region was responsible for 7.4% of national employment, with an employment rate of 60.9%. The region's employment success has a main characteristic: a higher concentration of elderly people than in the rest of France (respectively 27.1% and 24.1% in 2013). With more than 80% of regional employment in the service sector in 2016, the regional economy is mostly oriented towards service activities, above the national average of 75.8%. The sector grew between 2000 and 2010 (3.1% on annual average versus 2.1% in France). The region concentrates more on commercial activities than financial ones than the rest of France does; principally because of tourism. 34% of the labour force is employed in retail and trade, against 32% at the national level. Moreover, the sector strongly contributes to growth of added value (81.5% vs. 77.3% at the national level). The industrial sector (existing mainly through the Marseille Fos Port), including construction, consists of 17.1% of regional employment (vs. 20.6% in the rest of France), and contributes to 9.3% of gross added value, 3.2 points below the French level. Employment in the agricultural sector is lower than the national level (2.4% against 3.1%). However, it grew at a rate of 4.1% annually on average between 2000 and 2008, while the rest of the country saw its agricultural employment decline by 2.4%. According to the INSEE, the region is characterised by a strong presence of SMEs of less than 500 employees, which represent 91.2% of local businesses (higher than the national average of 90.9%). Retail activities and tourism explain these figures. The region's economy is dependent on tourism like most coastal places but also a majority of its economy is dependent on coastal activities. PACA is the 3rd richest French region and ranks 19th on the European scale. Its prosperity is mainly thanks to its attractiveness in terms of tourism; it is indeed one of the world's favourite tourist destinations, welcoming about 34 million tourists every year. The service sector predominates and provides many good jobs. In 2009, the region was admittedly affected by the global economic crisis, albeit to a small extent. It is (after the Paris area) the 2nd French region with regards to business startups. If tourism is the driving force of Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur, the region is also a leader when it comes to innovative sectors, such as high technology, biotechnology, and microelectronics. Education, for its part, is well developed with the region's various universities, international schools, preparatory classes for specialist university courses, and engineering and business schools. All these institutions of higher learning help contribute to the human capital needed by the region to meet current technological challenges. The region has a total GDP (2018) of €166.4 billion (US$188.7 bn), the sixth highest in France. It has a per capita GDP of €30,864 (US$34,994), slightly higher than the French average. According to a recent survey, a person living in Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur has an average annual income of about €37,489 (US$45,755). The region has been part of the Alps–Mediterranean Euroregion since 10 July 2007.

The region is one of the most visited of France, and has therefore many well known museums, mostly in Marseille: the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, the Musée Cantini, the Musée Grobet Labadié, the Marseille History Museum, the Musée des beaux arts de Marseille, the Musée de la Faïence de Marseille and the Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Marseille are some of the tourist spots of the city. However, other museums are internationally recognised, like the Musée Matisse, the Musée d'art moderne et d'art contemporain, the Musée Marc Chagall, the Musée international d'Art naïf Anatole Jakovsky, the Musée des Beaux Arts de Nice, the Musée National du Sport and the Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Nice.

Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur has two of the busiest airports in France: Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (ranking third nationally after Charles de Gaulle Airport and Orly Airport) and Marseille Provence Airport (ranking fifth nationally after Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport). Nice saw 14,485,423 people travelling through its airport in 2019, while 10,151,743 used Marseille to fly. As of 2019, the third busiest airport in Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur is Toulon–Hyères Airport (507,199 passengers), ranking 27th nationally.

The region is at the centre of a complex and dense motorway network, in the heart of Mediterranean coast. Motorways are operated by ASF, ESCOTA, SMTC, MPM (Marseille Metropolis) and DIR Med (State). In PACA, motorways have the particularity to serve the city centres of large cities, unlike other large cities of France. This is due to their comparatively early construction in relation to the motorways of France's other regions. A7 – Autoroute du Soleil "Motorway of the Sun" links the region to Lyon and on to the North of France. This motorway starts in central Marseille at the Porte d'Aix. The road widens at Septèmes Valleys and meets the A51. After a junction with the A55 and connecting highways A517, A551 and A552, the motorway crosses Vitrolles in 2x2x2 lanes. It serves Marseille Provence Airport and Aix en Provence TGV railway station. After 10 kilometres, the A7 passes the Berre l'Étang petrochimical complex at a junction with the D8 highway. After this it meets the A8 Provençal motorway at La Fare les Oliviers. After the toll station at Lançon de Provence, the road meets the A54 motorway at Salon de Provence. The motorway continues along the Rhône and Durance to Avignon and Orange until Lyon. A8 – La Provençale, crosses the region from west to east to Italy. This motorway starts from the A7 at La Fare les Oliviers. The first part of free road starts and cross Aix en Provence to be linked with A51 and N296 motorways. After the Palette Valley, the motorway arrives to the La Barque tool and the junction with the A52 to Aubagne, Marseille Est and Toulon. Crossing the Var department with the A8/A57 junction at Le Luc, the A8 gets a mountain profile to cross the French Riviera: Cannes, Antibes, Nice. A connection is made with A500 motorway at La Turbie to serves the Principauty of Monaco. After Menton, the motorway cross the Italian border until Genoa. A50 – This motorway connects the east of Marseilles after the Prado Carénage tooltunnel to Toulon. After crossing the Huveaune Valley and the South of Aubagne, the motorway goes near the coast to Toulon city center. The motorway crosses the city with a tunnel until A57. It is a suburban motorway. A51 – Autoroute du Val de Durance "Motorway of the Durance Valley". The motorway starts with the A7/A51/A517 junction in the north of Marseille between Plan de Campagne and Septèmes Valleys. 20 kilometres after, the motorway stops at the A8/A516/A51/N296 junction in the southern part of Aix en Provence. At Aix Nord, the motorway restarts and goes to rural South Alps after Manosque. It ends near Tallard, at south from Gap. A52 – Grand Contournement de Marseille "Marseille Bypass". The motorway starts at the A8/A52 junction in Aix Est (La Barque). It is a mountain 2x2 motorway built at around Marseille. After the A52/A520 junction and Pont de l'Étoile, it ends at Aubagne, connected with A501 and A50. A54 – Autoroute de la Crau "Crau Motorway". This motorway starts at the A7/A54 junction at Salon Est and the crossing of Salon de Provence with four exits, the motorway arrives at the Crau Plain. It ends at the N569/A54 junction in Saint Martin de Crau. It re begins at Arles Ouest to Nîmes, Montpellier and Barcelona. A55 – Autoroute du Littoral "Coastal Motorway". This motorway starts at Port de Bouc. After the Martigues bridge, the motorway passes at the south of the Berre pond in the Estaque Mountains After the A7/A55/A551/A552 junction at Les Pennes Mirabeau, it crosses the mountains and arrives at Marseille (Estaque district). After the junction of Grand Littoral, the way crosses the new Euroméditerranée Central Business District with a long bridge of Cars enter in the Joliette tunnel, continued by the Vieux Port tunnel under the sea and the Prado Carénage tooltunnel. These three tunnels crosses the Marseille city centre. A55 is connected with A50. A57 – Autoroute des Maures "Maures motorway". This motorways starts at A50/A57 junction after the Toulon tunnel. After the A57/1570 junction at La Valette du Var, the motorway continues along the plain of Maures to Cuers and Le Luc to be link with the A8. A500 Tunnel de Monaco "Monaco Tunnel". This motorway starts at La Turbie (A8) at the west of Monaco. The A8 goes over Monaco but A500 goes in Monaco with a tunnel to the principality. A501 Aubagne bypass, connects A50 to A52. A502 Garlaban motorway. This little motorway connects the A50 from Aubagne to Aubagne Est to the Garlaban mountains. A515 Junction from A51 to Gardanne. A516 L'Aixoise. This motorway connects the A51 southern East Junction to Aix city centre. A517 Convergent de Septèmes les Vallons "Convergent of Septemes Valleys". Link between A7 and 51. A520 Autoroute de la Sainte Baume "Ste. Baume motorway". This motorway starts from A52 at Pont de l'Étoile and ends at Auriol East to be connected with N560 to the Sambuc pass and Saint Maximin la Sainte Baume. A570 Autoroute de la Côte "Motorway of the Coast". Link between A57 and Hyères. The national road N97 continues after to Saint Tropez
N113 Highway in Vitrolles along the A7. Highway of the Crau Plain between Saint Martin de Crau (A54) to Arles Ouest (A54). N296 Aix en Provence bypass. N569 Port of Fos Marseille. D6 Highway of Arc Valley from A515 to Rousset Peynier Technologies centre. D8 Petrochimical area of Berre. D9 Link between Marseille Provence Airport, Aix TGV high speed train station, the Arbois desert, Europolis and Aix en Provence.

The mining company Alteo processes bauxite to produce aluminium, resulting in various waste materials such as "boues rouges" (red mud) and arsenic. The dumping of this waste in the marine reserve of Calanques National Park for six years was authorised by the French Government in 2015. Company representatives have dismissed environmental concerns as exaggerated and uninformed. The region also includes another national park, Port Cros National Park near Toulon. Due to motor vehicle traffic, the urban areas are often saturated on a daily basis, but cities are investing in public transport networks such as Marseille's subway (2 lines) and tramway (3 lines), the Aubagne tramway (1 line) and the Nice tramway (3 lines). Other networks existed at the beginning of the 20th century in smaller cities such as Aix en Provence, Avignon, La Ciotat and Toulon but are now gone.

Major universities of the region include the Aix Marseille University, the University of Toulon, the University of Avignon and the Côte d'Azur University. Other towns have higher education classes but no universities.