Meyreuil (French pronunciation: [meʁœj]; Occitan: Mairuelh) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France, about 11 km (6.8 mi) from Aix en Provence.

Meyreuil
Mont St. Victoire seen from Meyreuil
Mont St. Victoire seen from Meyreuil
Coat of arms of Meyreuil
Location of Meyreuil
Map
Meyreuil is located in France
Meyreuil
Meyreuil
Meyreuil is located in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Meyreuil
Meyreuil
Coordinates: 43°29′13″N 5°29′42″E / 43.487°N 5.495°E / 43.487; 5.495
CountryFrance
RegionProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
DepartmentBouches-du-Rhône
ArrondissementAix-en-Provence
CantonTrets
IntercommunalityAix-Marseille-Provence
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Jean-Pascal Gournes[1]
Area
1
20.13 km2 (7.77 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
5,935
 • Density290/km2 (760/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
13060 /13590
Elevation138–346 m (453–1,135 ft)
(avg. 262 m or 860 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography edit

Located 11 km (6.8 mi) from Aix-en-Provence, the commune of Meyreuil is sheltered in the northeast by the mountain Montagne Sainte-Victoire, and the district of Canet is separated from the chief town by the river Arc.

Meyreuil is composed of three principal districts:

Meyreuil village includes the town hall, the church and the cemetery. Nestled on the hillside, the old village is very peaceful.

The Plan of Meyreuil, where the majority of the trade, the post office or the media library are located, is the economic center of the commune.

Canet, situated on RN7 (the road between Paris and Nice) has always been a transportation hub. Formerly the location of two stagecoach stops, Canet today includes many hotels and restaurants, as well as a technology park .

History edit

The name of Meyreuil comes from that of the Roman General Marius, who fought a battle against the Ambrones and the Teutons near Aix in 102 B.C.

The village was successively called MIROIL (1098), MAIROL or MAIROIL in 1154, MEROLIO in 1259, MAREUIL to the 13th, 14th, 15th centuries, MAROLIUM and MEROLIUM in 1529, MERUEIL in 1634, MEIRUEILH in 1663, MEYRUEIL in 1766. The current name of MEYREUIL is at most 200 years old.

In the 15th century, it belonged to Guillaume de Littera (1371-1452).[3]

La Belle du Canet edit

A memorable figure in the history of Canet, la Belle du Canet was Lucrèce de Forbin-Solliès, widow of Henri de Rascas, lord of Canet and first Consul of Aix. She became the mistress of the Duke Louis de Vendôme, himself a widower. His deceased wife was Laure Mancini, niece of the Jules Cardinal Mazarin. Louis XIV, under pretext that they were both widowed (and, undoubtedly, for other more political reasons), opposed their marriage and had the Duke named as a Cardinal. This did not prevent the two lovers from being together. The Duke of Vendôme who lived in Aix-en-Provence at Cours Mirabeau, had a country house built, the Pavillon Vendôme, to meet his beloved who took care to disguise herself. The peasants of the suburb where the house was built called these disguised people the "machouettos". It is there that the Duke died Tuesday August 6, 1669, at only 57 years of age.

Population edit

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 793—    
1800 606−3.77%
1806 770+4.07%
1821 780+0.09%
1831 914+1.60%
1836 733−4.32%
1841 754+0.57%
1846 733−0.56%
1851 750+0.46%
1856 797+1.22%
1861 769−0.71%
1866 820+1.29%
1872 767−1.11%
1876 768+0.03%
1881 684−2.29%
1886 670−0.41%
1891 681+0.33%
1896 647−1.02%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 636−0.34%
1906 638+0.06%
1911 643+0.16%
1921 628−0.24%
1926 766+4.05%
1931 1,034+6.18%
1936 1,054+0.38%
1946 1,149+0.87%
1954 1,728+5.23%
1962 2,042+2.11%
1968 2,441+3.02%
1975 2,492+0.30%
1982 2,845+1.91%
1990 3,766+3.57%
1999 4,407+1.76%
2007 5,008+1.61%
2012 5,293+1.11%
2017 5,669+1.38%
Source: EHESS[4] and INSEE (1968-2017)[5]

Administration edit

Laurent Chazal, the mayor of the commune for 34 years, died on May 29, 2005. Robert Lagier succeeded Chazal as a result of the elections of July 3 and July 10, 2005. In March 2020, Jean-Pascal Gournes was elected mayor.

List of successive mayors
Term Name
1950–1971 Virgile Arene
1971–2005 Laurent Chazal
2005–2020 Robert Lagier
2020–incumbent Jean-Pascal Gournes

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Aix-en-Provence Historical Society: Guillaume de Littera
  4. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Meyreuil, EHESS (in French).
  5. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE

External links edit