The arrondissement of Marseille was created in 1800.[4] At the March 2017 reorganisation of the arrondissements of Bouches-du-Rhône, it lost one commune to the arrondissement of Aix-en-Provence, and it gained one commune from the arrondissement of Aix-en-Provence.[5]
As a result of the reorganisation of the cantons of France which came into effect in 2015, the borders of the cantons are no longer related to the borders of the arrondissements. The cantons of the arrondissement of Marseille were, as of January 2015:[6]