Lecture "Earthquakes in Provence" by Olivier Bellier, Director of CEREGE

**Olivier BELLIER*,** University Professor, Director of CEREGE1, Aix Marseille University, presents: "Earthquakes: from plate tectonics to seismic risk in Provence "**.
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Volcanoes and earthquakes are the Earth's way of breathing, and it's this particular 'life' that (among other things) makes it a viable planet for humans...
An overview of a subject that is unfortunately still very topical: earthquakes. We need to understand the internal dynamics of our planet to better understand the risks in the Mediterranean, in Europe and particularly in Provence. We are not all in the same tectonic situation, and even if France is not like Japan or Turkey, small, imperceptible but frequent earthquakes, especially in the Alps, remind us that there is no such thing as zero risk... In terms of plate tectonics, south-eastern France is an area of moderate intracontinental deformation in a collision zone associated with the convergence of Africa and Europe. Even if this convergence is weak, SE France has suffered relatively strong historical earthquakes, such as the Lambesc earthquake (or "Provence earthquake") in 1909, which caused numerous casualties and the destruction of several Provençal villages, including Vernègues.
In his talk, Olivier Bellier will present the 'dangerous links' between plate tectonics and earthquakes. These links will be illustrated using examples of recent earthquakes that have been dramatically present in the news, but he will focus in particular on the studies carried out on the analysis of seismic risk in Provence, with a particular focus on the 1909 Provence earthquake.
* Olivier BELLIER, Geologist. Professor at Aix Marseille University, Director of CEREGE- Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, Coll. De France, INRAE
In collaboration with other CEREGE researchers, in recent years he has devoted part of his research activities to the seismic risk in Provence, and more specifically to the Lambesc earthquake of 1909, which was the most deadly to affect mainland France in the last century. But he has worked and is still working on many other seismically active regions of the world: California, China, Turkey, Indonesia, South America, Iran, Armenia, etc.