Le Rove

Le Rove (French pronunciation: [lə ʁɔv]; Provençal: Lo Rove) is a seaside commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France.^[5]

Le Rove Lo Rove (Occitan)
Commune
The Niolon Cove, in Le Rove
Coat of arms
Location of Le Rove
Le Rove Show map of France Le Rove Show map of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Coordinates: 43°22′09″N 5°15′01″E
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Bouches-du-Rhône
Arrondissement	Istres
Canton	Marignane
Intercommunality	Aix-Marseille-Provence
Government
• Mayor (2025–2026)	Paul Sabatino[1][2][3]
Area 1	22.97 km2 (8.87 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[4]	5,205
• Density	226.6/km2 (586.9/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Rovenain (masculine) Rovenaine (feminine)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	13088 /13740
Elevation	0–263 m (0–863 ft) (avg. 150 m or 490 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It is located on the Côte Bleue just northwest of Marseille, neighbouring its 16th arrondissement within the larger Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis. It consists of a main village at Le Rove which houses the town hall, as well as a variety of hamlets and other settlements.

The Rove Tunnel, the world's longest canal tunnel at 7,120 metres (23,360 ft), has its southeastern entrance situated in Marseille near Le Rove, although a sizeable portion crosses the commune underground (from the Mediterranean towards the Étang de Berre), hence its name. It has been out of service since 1963.

Georges Rosso (1929-2025), the mayor of Le Rove, was the oldest mayor of any French city, at 93 years of age.^[6]

Transport

Le Rove is served by the Niolon TER PACA railway station (opened in 1915) on the Miramas–L'Estaque railway.

• 
  Station building
• 
  Railway line in Niolon

Demographics

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1836 844 —     1841 880 +0.84% 1846 1,074 +4.06% 1851 849 −4.59% 1856 816 −0.79% 1861 875 +1.41% 1866 820 −1.29% 1872 790 −0.62% 1876 755 −1.13% 1881 729 −0.70% 1886 661 −1.94% 1891 726 +1.89% 1896 742 +0.44% 1901 704 −1.05% 1906 747 +1.19% 1911 2,122 +23.22%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1921 678 −10.78% 1926 688 +0.29% 1931 869 +4.78% 1936 485 −11.01% 1946 516 +0.62% 1954 705 +3.98% 1962 1,186 +6.72% 1968 1,709 +6.28% 1975 2,233 +3.89% 1982 2,707 +2.79% 1990 3,429 +3.00% 1999 4,031 +1.81% 2009 4,223 +0.47% 2014 4,607 +1.76% 2020 5,193 +2.02%
Source: EHESS[7] and INSEE (1968–2020)[8]

Notable people

• Sébastien Chato (born 1961), singer, author, composer, lived in Le Rove
• Alexandre Fabre (born 1955), actor, lives in Le Rove
• Maurice Gouiran (born 1946), thriller writer, born in Le Rove
• Malika Haimeur (born 1956), awarded the Irène Joliot-Curie Prize for Women & Business in 2009
• Franky Zapata (born 1978), creator of the Flyboard, lived in Le Rove with his workshop still there

See also

• Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department