The arrondissement of Istres was created in 1981.[2]
Geography
The arrondissement of Istres is in the south of the Bouches-du-Rhône department. It is bordered to the north and east by the Aix-en-Provencearrondissement, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea and to the west by the Arlesarrondissement.
The arrondissement of Istres is the smallest arrondissement of the department in area, 599.3 km2 (231.4 sq mi); it has a population of 312,489 inhabitants.
Composition
Cantons
After the reorganisation of the cantons in France,[3] cantons are not subdivisions of the arrondissements so they could have communes that belong to different arrondissements.
There are 6 cantons in the arrondissement of Istres and 3 of them do not have all their communes in the arrondissement: