"(the) Saint Marys of the Sea", locally Les Saintes, [le sɛ̃t]; Provençal: Lei Santei Marias de la Mar (classical norm) or Li Sànti Marìo de la Mar (Mistralian norm)), is the capital of the Camargue (Provençal: Camarga) natural region in Southern France.

The commune comprises alluvial land and marshland, and includes the Étang de Vaccarès, a large lagoon.

Agriculture is also significant, and ranchers have raised horses and cattle unique to the Camargue; some of the bulls are used for Spanish-style bull-fighting and for the bloodless course camarguaise.

In the 6th century, the archbishopric of Arles was active and created a monastery or church in the town, named St Mary, a favorite of the fishermen.

In the early 20th century, the town was a literary and artistic center, with visits inter alios from such figures as American writer Ernest Hemingway and Spanish painter Picasso.

According to a longstanding French legend, they either sailed to or were cast adrift—arriving off the coast of what is now France, at "a sort of fortress named Oppidum-Râ".

The feast days in May draw large numbers of Roma Catholics and others from France and beyond—typically 25,000–40,000 people all together—to the town for a week.

On successive days, Romas and a large crowd process statues of Sara and the Saintes Maries from the church to the beach, carrying them right into the sea.

A statue of Sarah is in the crypt of the church, which also encloses a 4th-century BC taurobolic altar once dedicated to the cult of the Indo-Iranian god Mithras,[5] although a likely Celtic origin is claimed.