The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Aix Marseille Provence (CCIAMP), originally known as the Marseille Chamber of Commerce, later as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Marseille Provence (CCIMP), is the oldest Chamber of Commerce in the world, established in 1599. The Marseille Chamber also invented the phrase "Chamber of Commerce." According to the Chamber, it was originally created to protect French merchant vessels from Piracy in the Mediterranean. However, the City Council briefly abolished the Chamber in the mid-1600's, during The Fronde, in a failed uprising of the nobility against the King. In 1660, after Louis XIV laid siege to the city and invaded it, occupying the city for 5 days, he re-certified the Chamber. During the French Revolution, the Chamber – along with every other Chamber in France – was again abolished, but was reestablished in 1802. Today, it is a participant of the Council of Europe initiative Routes of the Olive Tree.
Originally, the institution was housed in the Palais Communal. Later it moved to the Hôtel de Ville. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was headquartered in a temporary building at the Place Général de Gaulle. In 1852, the architect Pascal Coste was selected to build the Palais de Bourse et Commerce, inaugurated on September 10, 1860 by Napoleon III and Eugénie de Montijo. The building, also known as the Marseille Stock Exchange Building, has been the headquarters of the CCIAMP ever since.
Presidents of the Chamber
Before 1832, Chamber presidents were rotated on a weekly basis, and therefore, while their names are recorded in the Chamber's archives (one of the largest business history archives in the world), they are not presently kept on public display. Presidents following 1832 are displayed with portraits lining the central staircase of the Marseille Stock Exchange Building.
1832-1837: Alexis-Joseph Rostand
1837-1838: Auguste Lafon
1838-1842: Wulfran Puget
1842-1843: Élysée Reynard
1843-1845: Bruno Rostand
1844-1845: Alexander Warrain
1845-1847: Lazare Luce
1847-1849: David Rabaud
1849-1852: Fabricius Paranque
1852-1866: Jean-Baptiste Pastré
1866-1872: Amédée Armand
1872-1875: Jules Gimmig
1875-1881: Alphonse Grandval
1881-1891: Cyprien Fabre
1891-1901: Augustin Féraud
1901-1905: Léopold Le Mée de La Salle
1905-1909: Paul Desbief
1909-1911: Lucien Estrine
1911-1913: Albert Armand
1913-1919: Adrien Artaud
1920-1923: Hubert Giraud
1924-1927: Emile Rastoin
1928-1929: Edgar David
1930-1931: George Brenier
1932-1933: Maurice Hubert
1934-1937: Felix Prax
1937-1941: Antoine Boude
1941-1944: Émile Régis
1944-1947: Charles Mourre
1948-1949: André Cordesse
1950-1951: Édouard Rastoin
1952-1953: Marcel Rogliano
1954-1955: Francis Dufour
1956-1959: Pierre Keller
1960-1963: Léon Bétous
1963-1967: Émile Blachette
1967-1970: Maurice Chabas
1971-1974: Pierre Blum
1974-1977: Jacques Deguignes
1977-1979: André Touret
1980-1982: Paul Fabre
1983-1987: Henri Mercier
1987-1988: Albert Bourdillon
1988-1991: François Le Bars
1992-1997: Henry Roux-Alezais
1998-2003: Claude Cardella
2004-2016: Jacques Pfister
Since 2016: Jean-Luc Chauvin