Toulon (Provençal: Tolon (classical norm), Touloun (Mistralian norm)) is a city in southern France and a large military harbour on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department.
The Commune of Toulon has a population of 165,514 people (2009), making it the fifteenth-largest city in France. It is the center of an urban area with 559,421 inhabitants (2008), the ninth largest in France. Toulon is the third-largest French city on the Mediterranean coast after Marseilles and Nice.
Toulon is an important center for naval construction, fishing, wine making, and the manufacture of aeronautical equipment, armaments, maps, paper, tobacco, printing, shoes, and electronic equipment.
The military port of Toulon is the major naval center on France's Mediterranean coast, home of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and her battle group. The French Mediterranean Fleet is based in Toulon.
