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A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land.

Port locations are selected to optimize access to land and navigable water, for commercial demand, and for shelter from wind and waves. Ports with deeper water are rarer, but can handle larger, more economical ships. Since ports throughout history handled every kind of traffic, support and storage facilities vary widely, may extend for miles, and dominate the local economy. Some ports have an important military role.

Marseille ( /mɑrˈseɪ/; also Marseilles in English; French pronunciation: [maʁsɛj]; locally [mɑχˈsɛjɐ]; in Occitan Marselha or Marsiho [maʀˈsejɔ, maʀˈsijɔ]), known in antiquity as Massalia (from Greek: Μασσαλία), is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of 240.62 km² (93 sq mi). The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of 1,204 km² (465 sq mi). 1,530,000 or 1,601,095 people live in the Marseille metropolitan area, ranking it 3rd among French metropolitan areas after Paris and Lyon. Located on the southeast coast of France, Marseille is France's largest city on the Mediterranean coast and largest commercial port. Marseille is the capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, as well as the capital of the Bouches-du-Rhône department. Its inhabitants are called Marseillais.

Bouches-du-Rhône (French pronunciation: [buʃ.dy.ʁon]; Occitan: Bocas de Ròse, lit. "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.