Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; ; ; PACA) is one of the 18 administrative regions of France. Its capital 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, 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. 4,935,576 people live in the region according to the 2012 census.
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence the population, 32.8% of available housing in the department are second homes. The department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is one of the least densely populated of France with barely more than 20 inhabitants per km. The population is concentrated mainly in the valleys of the Durance, the Bléone (up to Digne) and the nearby flat lands. The rest of the department is sparsely populated (less than 10 inhabitants per km over most of the territory). Half of the Communes have less than 200 inhabitants, 17 communes have less than 50 and many villages have been abandoned. The towns are small: only Digne-les-Bains