Arrondissements of the Bouches-du-Rhône department facts for kids

France is divided into areas called departments, which are a bit like states or large counties. One of these departments is called Bouches-du-Rhône. Inside each department, there are smaller areas called arrondissements. You can think of an arrondissement as a district or a borough.

The main city of an arrondissement is called a subprefecture. If the main city of the whole department (which is called the prefecture) is inside an arrondissement, then that city acts as both the prefecture for the department and the subprefecture for its arrondissement.

Arrondissements are further divided into even smaller areas called communes, which are like towns or villages.

Arrondissements in Bouches-du-Rhône

The Bouches-du-Rhône department has 4 main arrondissements. Each one has its own capital city, population, and area.

History of Bouches-du-Rhône Arrondissements

The Bouches-du-Rhône department was created a long time ago, during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. When it was first made, it was divided into six smaller areas called districts. These districts were Tarascon, Apt, Aix, Marseille, Salon, and Arles. The main city for the department was Aix.

Later, in 1800, the idea of arrondissements was introduced in France. The six districts in Bouches-du-Rhône were changed into three arrondissements: Marseille, Aix, and Tarascon. At this time, the main city of the department (the prefecture) was moved from Aix to Marseille.

In 1817, the subprefecture of Tarascon was moved to Arles. Much later, in 1981, a new arrondissement called Istres was created.

Related pages

• List of arrondissements of France

Images for kids

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  Map of arrondissements of the Bouches-du-Rhône department.