| Facts and figures about the PACA region |
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Oil storage at Fos-sur-Mer. (© Port Autonome de Marseille)
The administrative region PACA, which was established in 1972, more or less covers the southeastern part of the ancient Roman Provincia Narbonensis, whose capital was the city of Narbonne. From the 9th to the 15th century, the County of Provence was partially and successively a fiefdom of the Catalan rulers of Barcelona, the Kings of Burgundy, the German rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and of the French-born Kings of Naples. Only in 1486, under King Charles VIII, was Provence legally incorporated into the French royal domain.
PACA is now composed of six départements — administrative divisions that were created during the French Revolution in 1792. One of them, the Alpes-Maritimes, was joined to France belatedly in 1860.
The village of Banon in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
PACA's industrial activity centres in Bouches-du-Rhône; this department is responsible for more than 80% of the region's total importations and exportations.
All together, PACA ranks n°3 among the French regions for its contribution to the Gross National Product (7%); Paris-Île de France (IDF) being n°1 with 28% and Rhône-Alpes n°2 with 9.7%. From an economic point of view, France is still a very centralized country.
Average income in PACA is slightly higher than the French "provincial average", not counting the Paris-IDF region, and 5% lower than the global national average.
The average net monthly income for a PACA resident is 1 400 € (compared to 1 500 € nationally). Managers ("Cadres") typically earn twice that sum in in Bouches-du-Rhône, where wages are highest. In Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute Provence the average monthly salary of a manager (2 600 €) is 15% lower.
On average, women's salaries are still 25% lower than men's, and up to 28% in management positions...(to be continued)
Economic and social statistics about the PACA region can be accessed in PDF format here
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