Marseille was an important European trading centre and remains the main commercial port of the French Republic. Marseille is now France's largest city on the Mediterranean coast and the largest port for commerce, freight and cruise ships. The city was European Capital of Culture in 2013 and European Capital of Sport in 2017; it hosted matches at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2016. It is home to Aix-Marseille University. 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
French Politics, Culture & Society Politics, Culture & Society" is indexed and abstracted in: French Politics, Culture & Society French Politics, Culture & Society is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Berghahn Books on behalf of the Conference Group on French Politics & Society (sponsored jointly by the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University and the Institute of French Studies at New York University). It covers modern and contemporary France from the perspectives of the social sciences, history, and cultural analysis. It also explores the relationship of France to the rest of the world, especially Europe, the United States, and the