Small earthquake of magnitude 3.0 just reported 72 km southwest of La Ciotat, France

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake near La Ciotat, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France, was reported only 9 minutes ago by France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS), considered the main national agency that monitors seismic activity in this part of the world. The earthquake occurred at a very shallow depth of 5. km beneath the epicenter early evening on Tuesday, December 16th, 2025, at 6:03 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 2.7 earthquake.
According to preliminary calculations, we do not expect that the quake was felt by many people and did not cause any damage. In La Ciotat (pop. 33,100, 72 km away), the quake was probably not felt.


Earthquake data:
Date & time: Dec 16, 2025 06:03 pm (GMT +0) local time (16 Dec 2025 18:03 GMT)
Magnitude: 3.0
Depth: 5.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 42.61°N / 5.17°E (France)
Primary data source: RENASS
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/289564/Small-earthquake-of-magnitude-30-just-reported-72-km-southwest-of-La-Ciotat-France.html