Paris - One of the largest mosques in France will soon find a home in the southern coastal city of Marseille with room for 2,000 worshippers. The city's mayor symbolically handed over the key for the building on Thursday and it is to be renovated over the next several months.
The 8-million-euro (11.9-million-dollar) project will be financed largely through donations.
The project had originally been delayed when a right-wing group protested that the Muslim congregation was to have paid only symbolic rent to the city.
The new mosque will have two 25-metre minarets and a dome.
About 200,000 Muslims live in Marseille, making up about a quarter of its population.
