Marseille is France's second data center hub after Paris because of the undersea internet cables that land there. Digital Realty runs four data centers in the port, MRS1 to MRS4, and is building a fifth, MRS5, on the site of the old Saint-Louis sugar silo, due to open at the end of 2026. In March 2026 the town of Bouc-Bel-Air granted it a permit for MRS6: a €700 million, 50-megawatt data center in a former Decathlon warehouse in the Chabauds zone, with work to start in 2026 and servers online in early 2028.
MRS5 made data centers a public argument in Marseille. In September 2024 the collective Le nuage était sous nos pieds, formed by La Quadrature du Net, Technopolice and the Gammares group, held a press conference opposite the silo. Patrick Robert, who represents neighborhood committees in the north of the city, said MRS5 would use 241 million kilowatt-hours a year, "the equivalent of the 13th arrondissement of Marseille," and doubted the grid could also power the quays so docked ships can switch off their engines. Deputy mayor Sébastien Barles called for a moratorium on new data centers in the city.
In Bouc-Bel-Air, the residents' association of the south of town gathered nearly 2,000 signatures against MRS6 over noise and power use. The inquiry commissioner gave a favorable opinion with reservations on landscaping and architecture.
Projects not tied to an area
Sites whose records name no county. Everything else is on the pages listed above.
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur2
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Realty Marseille (MRS1-3) | Digital Realty | Not reported | ||
| Oracle Cloud Region Marseille | Oracle | Not reported |
Where this comes from
The reporting above was written from these. Open one and check it yourself.
Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.