Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis The Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis () is the "métropole", an intercommunal structure, centred on the cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence. It is located in the Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Vaucluse departments, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. It was created in January 2016, replacing the previous "Communauté urbaine Marseille Provence Métropole" and five communautés d'agglomération. Its population was 1,886,842 in 2014, of which 866,644 in Marseille proper and 145,763 in Aix-en-Provence. The Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis was formed through the merger of the following communities: Of the 92 communes of the métropole d'Aix-Marseille-Provence, 90 are part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department. Pertuis is
Provence Nice and the lower Alps, was detached from Provence and attached to the lands of the Duke of Savoy. The lower Alps were re-attached to France after the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, but Nice did not return to France until 1860, during the reign of Napoleon III. The administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur was created in 1982. It included Provence, plus the territory of the Comtat Venaissin around Avignon, the eastern portion of the Dauphiné, and the former county of Nice. The Rhône river, on the western border of Provence, is one of the major rivers of France, and