The VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey: 10 000 Galaxies to Study the Early Phases of Galaxy Assembly at 2 < z < 6+

The VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS) aims to study the early phases of galaxy assembly from a large, well-defined sample of ~ 10 000 galaxies with spectra obtained from very deep VIMOS observations. This sample is by far the largest to date, with spectroscopic redshifts covering a redshift range 2 < z < ~ 6 and it enables a range of fundamental studies to better understand the first major steps in galaxy evolution. The first results from the VUDS survey are summarised, including the discovery of a galaxy protocluster at z = 3.3.