Fos-sur-Mer (French pronunciation: [fɔs syʁ mɛʁ], literally Fos on Sea; Provençal: Fòs) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.

Fos-sur-Mer
Industrial zone
Industrial zone
Coat of arms of Fos-sur-Mer
Location of Fos-sur-Mer
Map
Fos-sur-Mer is located in France
Fos-sur-Mer
Fos-sur-Mer
Fos-sur-Mer is located in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Fos-sur-Mer
Fos-sur-Mer
Coordinates: 43°26′25″N 4°56′55″E / 43.4403°N 4.9486°E / 43.4403; 4.9486
CountryFrance
RegionProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
DepartmentBouches-du-Rhône
ArrondissementIstres
CantonIstres
IntercommunalityAix-Marseille-Provence
Government
 • Mayor (2022–2026) René Raimondi[1]
Area
1
92.31 km2 (35.64 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
15,469
 • Density170/km2 (430/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
13039 /13270
Elevation0–39 m (0–128 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

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Fos-sur-Mer is situated about 50 km (31 mi) north west of Marseille, on the Mediterranean coast, and to the west of the Étang de Berre. The city has 6 km (3.7 mi) of sand beach.

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 550—    
1800 418−3.84%
1806 579+5.58%
1821 690+1.18%
1831 916+2.87%
1836 1,498+10.34%
1841 1,862+4.45%
1846 1,938+0.80%
1851 1,984+0.47%
1856 2,130+1.43%
1861 2,218+0.81%
1866 1,170−12.01%
1872 1,170+0.00%
1876 1,040−2.90%
1881 1,140+1.85%
1886 1,146+0.11%
1891 1,464+5.02%
1896 1,473+0.12%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 1,393−1.11%
1906 996−6.49%
1911 1,114+2.26%
1921 1,223+0.94%
1926 1,350+2.00%
1931 1,531+2.55%
1936 1,543+0.16%
1946 1,645+0.64%
1954 2,349+4.55%
1962 2,898+2.66%
1968 2,869−0.17%
1975 6,709+12.90%
1982 9,031+4.34%
1990 11,605+3.18%
1999 13,925+2.05%
2007 15,832+1.62%
2012 15,859+0.03%
2017 15,494−0.46%
Source: EHESS[3] and INSEE (1968-2017)[4]

Economy

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Fos is the site of a major port development operated by the Autonomous Port of Marseille. The facilities include container handling terminals and a gas (methane) terminal. The waterside location of the industrial zone is attractive to heavy industry including steel.

The steel group ArcelorMittal has its Sollac Méditerranée plant here ( merged into ArcelorMittal in 2006). The presence of the steel, chemistry and oil industries means that pollution levels are high.

Sports

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Fos-sur-Mer is home to Fos Provence Basket which plays its home games at the 2,000 seat Complexe sportif Parsemain.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 6 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Fos-sur-Mer, EHESS (in French).
  4. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE