Euroméditerranée

Picture of the Euroméditerranée project
Project box

Geographical area: Europe

Location: Marseille, France

City size: Medium (between 250,000 and 1,000,000 inhabitants)

Promoter: French State, in partnership with Région Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Département des Bouches-du-Rhône, Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence, and the City of Marseille

Developer: Établissement Public d’Aménagement Euroméditerranée (EPAEM)

Start year:

End-year: In progress

Implementation phase: Implementation in progress

Project size: City

Total area of intervention (in sqm): 4.800.000

Total investments (in USD): 7.86 billion

Project overview

Euroméditerranée is a large-scale urban regeneration project in Marseille, located along the city’s northern waterfront and port-adjacent areas on the Mediterranean coast. Launched to transform former industrial and port zones, the project integrates economic development and social revitalization, positioning Marseille as a key Euro-Mediterranean hub. The project extends from the historic city center (La Joliette and Le Vieux-Port) towards the northern districts (Belle-de-Mai, Arenc, and the Canet-Bougainville area), forming a continuous urban corridor along the coast, linking the city center, port areas and northern districts. Launched in 1995 through a partnership between the French State and the City of Marseille under the framework of an Opération d’Intérêt National (OIN - Operation of national interest; a specific planning instrument in France that allows the State to retain control over major urban development operations considered of national importance, particularly in terms of planning and land-use decisions). The project targets former industrial, logistics and port related zones that had become underused and disconnected from the rest of the city. 

The project was established in response to severe economic and demographic decline. Between the 1970s and 1990s, Marseille lost approximately 150,000 inhabitants and 50,000 jobs, while experiencing a high unemployment rate and a strong spatial divide between the city center and the disadvantaged northern neighborhoods. The weakening of port-related activities and the deterioration of infrastructure further limited the attractiveness for investment and residential development in the northern part of Marseille. 

To address these challenges, a dedicated public development agency was created, the Établissement Public d’Aménagement Euroméditerranée (EPAEM), tasked with leading a long-term regeneration strategy. The project initially focused on transforming 310 hectares of central and port-adjacent areas into a new metropolitan core through the development of a central business district, new housing, and public amenities. This first phase, known as Euroméditerranée 1, focused on the redevelopment of former port and industrial areas between La Joliette, the Porte d’Aix, and the eastern waterfront of the port. In 2007, the project perimeter was extended by an additional 170 hectares to the north, forming Euroméditerranée 2 and expanding the intervention area to a total of 480 hectares. The second phase of the project places a greater emphasis on environmental sustainability, climate adaptation, and the reconnection between the city, northern districts, and the waterfront while focusing on the regeneration of industrial and railway brownfields in northern districts.  

The project follows a public-private partnership model, in which EPAEM coordinates land development and infrastructure provision, while private developers deliver real estate projects. After nearly three decades of implementation, Euroméditerranée has transformed Marseille into a major metropolitan hub, becoming the third largest business district in France, with 756,000 square meters of office space and 56,170 jobs created. The project has also contributed to the development of a diversified economic ecosystem and the strengthening of Marseille’s attractiveness for investment at the national and Mediterranean scale. Furthermore, the project has delivered new housing, public facilities and environmental protection measures, although challenges related to social inclusion and spatial inequalities remain. These mainly reflect the difficulty of fully reducing long-standing socio-economic disparities between the city center, the port adjacent areas and the northern districts, as well as emerging pressures on housing affordability linked to increased attractiveness and real estate development. The project is still ongoing, with new development phases planned in the northern districts through the early 2030s. 

Euroméditerranée is characterized by a mixed-use urban structure combining commercial, residential, educational, health-related, and cultural functions, along with public infrastructure. In newly delivered projects, this mix is reflected in the distribution of uses, with 46% dedicated to housing, 31% to public facilities, and 18% to commercial activities. The project includes extensive office and retail developments, with approximately 756,000 square meters of office space delivered, forming a major business district.  Residential development is also a key component of the project, with 9,900 new housing units delivered and 5,280 existing dwellings rehabilitated, accommodating 40,000 inhabitants within the perimeter of the project. The project integrates a wide range of institutional and public facilities including schools, healthcare infrastructure, such as l’Hôpital Européen, a major medical center, and cultural institutions such as the MuCEM and the FRAC. It also includes major waterfront redevelopment, and public spaces and recreational areas such as Parc Bougainville and the future Parc du ruisseau des Aygalades. The project also increases connectivity, including the development of tramway, metro and regional rail systems.

Benefits

Euroméditerranée has played a central role in boosting economic development at the municipal and metropolitan scale by transforming former port and industrial areas into a major business and employment hub. The project has driven the emergence of a new central business district in the La Joliette and Arenc areas, clustering key sectors such as logistics, finance, digital industries, and public administration. By the end of 2024, approximately 756,000 square meters of office spaces had been delivered, and 56,170 jobs had been created or relocated within the OIN perimeter, reflecting a significant concentration of economic activities rather than only job creation. The area also hosts 6,109 companies and local business units, indicating a highly diversified economic ecosystem, with strong representation in health and social activities (20%), commerce (18%), and business services (14%). Public administration accounts for a significant share of total employment (39%). 

The project has mobilized €6.8 billion in investment, the majority from private sources, demonstrating the strong leverage effect of public intervention. Public investment in infrastructure and land development has enabled the attraction of private capital, strengthening the area’s attractiveness for investors and businesses and reinforcing its role within regional and national economic networks. This dynamic is supported by an active investment promotion strategy, led by EPAEM in partnership with regional and local economic development agencies, such as Rising Sud and Provence Promotion, with 102 new projects identified in 2024, 162 ongoing projects, and 69 projects implemented since 2020, highlighting a sustained pipeline of economic development initiatives.

This process has supported the economic vibrancy of the area and reinforced Marseille’s competitiveness and employment opportunities. At the municipal level, the project has contributed to local economic development, notably through the expansion of the local tax-base driven by the new economic activities and real estate development.  More specifically, the concentration of offices, commercial activities, and services within this regenerated area has increased fiscal revenues and strengthened the functional centrality of this part of the city, which was historically disconnected. 

From an environmental perspective, Euroméditerranée integrates a comprehensive sustainability strategy structured around climate adaptation, circular resource use, and low-carbon urban development. The sustainability strategy is anchored in the EcoCité label obtained in 2009 and the “Ville Durable Méditerranéenne” approach that guides urban quality, climate responsiveness, and long-term habitability.

The project addresses climate adaptation and urban resilience, particularly in the northern extension of the project (Euroméditerranée 2), where interventions are designed to address both environmental risks and urban comfort. The development of the Parc du ruisseau des Aygalades, for example, involves the renaturation of around 16 hectares of former railway land, contributing to flood risk mitigation, the restoration of natural water cycles, and the creation of urban cooling effects. These interventions illustrate a shift towards nature-based solutions to manage climate risks in dense urban environments.  

The project also emphasizes resource efficiency and circularity through the large-scale reuse of brownfield and industrial land, combined with circular economy principles applied in soil management and construction processes. This includes the reuse of excavated materials, reducing the need for new resources and limiting waste associated with urban development. For instance, the project includes the reuse of 60,000 m2 of excavated soil and the annual reuse of around 2,8000 m3 of water, which illustrates the operational implementation of circularity at the project scale. 

In parallel, Euroméditerranée contributes to greenhouse gas emission reduction through low-carbon solutions, including innovative energy systems such as seawater-based heating and cooling networks (Thalassia and Massiléo). These systems contribute to the transition toward low-carbon urban infrastructure.

Finally, the project enhances urban ecosystems and biodiversity through the development of green and blue corridors (trame verte et bleue, i.e., interconnected networks of parks and restored waterways), the creation of new parks such as Parc Bougainville, and the restoration of natural environments within dense urban areas. These interventions support ecological continuity and the improvement of residents’ quality of life.

Euroméditerranée has aimed to address demographic decline and territorial inequalities by promoting a more inclusive and connected urban environment.  The project pursued a “housing for all” strategy as a core condition for regeneration, and by the end of 2024 it had delivered 9,900 new controlled-rent housing units and supported the rehabilitation of 5,280 existing dwellings, contributing to diversifying the housing supply and supporting population growth. Beyond housing provision, the project has increased spatial connectivity at the metropolitan scale through investments in public transport infrastructure, including tramway extensions, improved metro and regional rail connection, as well as the promotion of soft mobility and shared transport solutions, improving accessibility and connections between northern districts and the city center. These mobility improvements contribute to the development of a more accessible and efficient urban mobility system, facilitating the movement of people. 

The project has also increased access to public services and urban amenities, including educational, cultural, and healthcare facilities. These include the development of new schools in the project area, such as the Cité Scolaire Internationale Jacques Chirac, higher education and training facilities like the digital campus La Plateforme, a medical centre (Hôpital Européen), as well as major cultural institutions including the MuCEM, the FRAC and the Silo. In addition, the creation of new public and green spaces, such as the Parc Bougainville and the future parc des Aygalades, has enhanced urban quality.

Euroméditerranée has implemented social inclusion measures through employment clauses in construction contracts, requiring contractors to hire individuals from disadvantaged groups. Between 2010 and 2024, these measures generated 797,637 hours of employment for over 1,300 beneficiaries, supporting their access to the labor market. This mechanism links urban development directly to social inclusion by conditioning public and private construction contracts to local employment objectives. This approach is complemented by partnerships with employment and training institutions to reinforce long-term inclusion pathways. 

Several buildings within the project area have achieved environmental certifications such as BREEAM and HQE (Haute Qualité Environnementale – High Quality Environmental standard). At the district level, the project obtained the national EcoCité label in 2009, formalizing its commitment to sustainable urban innovation

Finance model

Euroméditerranée operates through a mixed funding model combining public grants and private investment. The total investment amounts to €6.8 billion, including around 1.5 billion of public funds and 5.3 billion of private investment. This figure refers to the cumulative investment mobilized for the first phase of the project (Euroméditerranée 1). The final cost of the overall operation, including Euroméditerranée 2, is still not defined. 

Public funding is provided through a formal protocol involving the French State, Région Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the Département des Bouches-du-Rhône, the Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence, and the City of Marseille. These contributions take the form of grants allocated to EPAEM, the public development agency. These contributions are complemented in some cases by European funds (FEDER), primarily used to finance infrastructure, public spaces and early-stage development. Private funding is provided by private developers and institutional investors who finance residential, commercial, and office developments through land acquisitions and real estate investments after acquiring land from EPAEM. 

The project relies on a combination of financing instruments. First, public grants are provided by the French State, regional and local authorities, as well as the European Union, and are used to finance major infrastructure, public spaces, and early-stage development (i.e. land acquisitions, site preparation, planning activities carried out before the private construction begins).

Value capture mechanisms are also used, including betterment levies, which consists of capturing the increase in land value generated by public infrastructure and planning investments. EPAEM acquires land and prepares it for development by providing infrastructure such as roads and utilities, thereby transforming it into serviced land, ready for construction. EPAEM then sells it to private developers at a higher value once infrastructure and planning have increased attractiveness. The payments made by developers for land acquisition and development rights (charges foncières) are a key value capture instrument, allowing the public agency to reinvest part of the value created. Equity investment is also provided by private developers and institutional investors, who finance the construction of residential, office and commercial buildings. These actors assume development risk and are compensated through revenues generated by real estate operations. Between 2021 and 2024, private funding has represented approximately one quarter of total project financing. Furthermore, debt financing is used by the development agency, EPAEM, to manage cash flow overtime. A stable level of borrowing (approximately €70 million in outstanding loans) supports long-term project implementation. This combination of instruments creates a leverage mechanism in which public investment in infrastructure enables private development, while value capture tools ensure that part of the generated land value is reinvested into subsequent phases of the project. In 2024, revenues collected by EPAEM from land transactions and developer contributions amounted to €23.9 million. 

References and Credits

Euroméditerranée official website. Accessed on 10/03/2026. Available here: https://www.euromediterranee.fr/

Établissement Public d’Aménagement Euroméditerranée. Rapport d’activités 2024. Accessed on 10/03/2024. Available here: https://www.euromediterranee.fr/sites/default/files/2025-08/rapport_dactivites_epaem_2024.pdf

Bertoncello, B., & Hagel, Z. (2024). Smartseille, opération pionnière de l’extension d’Euroméditerranée, Marseille: derrière l’innovation, l’expérimentation pour modifier les modes de faire. Territoire en mouvement – Revue de géographie et aménagement, (60). Available here: https://journals.openedition.org/tem/10881

Martone, A., Pennella, G., & Sepe, M. (2012). Waterfront renewal and city regeneration: the case of Marseille Euromediterranee. In Competition and Innovation in Tourism: New Challenges in an Uncertain Environment, pp. 483–499. Enzo Albano Editore. Available here: https://iris.cnr.it/handle/20.500.14243/215029

Marotta, I. (2014). Euroméditerranée II, a new sustainable model. In Proceedings of the Business Systems Laboratory – 2nd International Symposium “System Thinking for a Sustainable Economy”, Universitas Mercatorum, Rome.

Cerema. L’opération d’intérêt national (OIN). Accessed on 13/03/2026. Available here: https://outil2amenagement.cerema.fr/outils/loperation-dinteret-national-oin

Ministère de la Transition écologique. Établissements publics d’aménagement. Accessed on 12/03/2024. Available here: https://amenagement-durable.ecologie.gouv.fr/etablissements-publics-amenagement

Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence. Brochure Grands Projets 2025–2026 – Euroméditerranée. Accessed on 16/03/2024. Available here: https://ampmetropole.fr/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Brochure-Grands-Projets-2025-2026-Euromediterranee.pdf

Euroméditerranée. Projects. Accessed on 16/03/2026. Available here: https://www.euromediterranee.fr/en/projets

Euroméditerranée. Project visuals. Accessed on 16/03/2026. Available here: https://www.euromediterranee.fr/sites/default/files/inline-images/CMOIRENC_173211.jpg

ITaxa. Betterment levy definition. Accessed on 23/03/2026. Available here: https://www.itaxa.it/blog/en/dizionario/betterment-levy/

Image: Mesinfos. Accessed on 16/03/2036. https://mesinfos.fr/13000-marseille/euromediterranee-cherche-un-urbaniste-conseil-pour-la-fin-d-euromed-1-187303.html