Gardanne

Gardanne
Commune
View of Gardanne by Cézanne
Coat of arms
Location of Gardanne
Gardanne Gardanne
Coordinates: 43°27′19″N 5°28′34″E
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Bouches-du-Rhône
Arrondissement	Aix-en-Provence
Canton	Gardanne
Intercommunality	Aix-Marseille-Provence
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Hervé Granier
Area 1	27.02 km2 (10.43 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	21,174
• Density	780/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	13041 /13120
Elevation	170–387 m (558–1,270 ft) (avg. 205 m or 673 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Gardanne (French pronunciation: [ɡaʁdan]; Occitan: Gardana) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. Its inhabitants are called Gardannais.

Geography

It is close to Aix-en-Provence and Marseille and on the rail link connecting the two cities.

It is bordered by the Massif du Montaiguet, which expands to Luynes, Aix en Provence and Bouc-Bel-Air. It comprises chalky plateaux bordered by cliffs, forests of pines and oaks, and crops areas. In 1979 and 2005 the area was devastated by bush fires. Following these incidents, garrigue is now covering a wide area.

History

Walls dating back to the first century AD have been found.

In 1454 René d'Anjou bought the estate and would go there until 1480. In 1482 it was bought back by the Forbins and in 1676 the villagers themselves bought back their own land.

In the 1860s a railway was built and a little later mines were dug, thus attracting Italian, Armenian, Polish, Czech, Spanish and African workers to the village. The deep mine, one of the last surviving in France, was closed down in 2003.

Energy

The Centrale thermique de Provence, a thermal power station is located in Gardanne. It runs on coal and biomass and uses the technology known as the circulating fluidized bed. It has the highest chimney in France which rises to 297 m. In 2018, the site director presented it as the third tallest building in France, after the Eiffel Tower and the Millau viaduct. The plant will be closed before 2022 in order to reduce greenhouse gas (CO₂) emissions in accordance with the PPE law.

Gardanne power station seen from Mimet.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 2,253 —     1800 2,353 +0.62% 1806 2,428 +0.52% 1821 2,823 +1.01% 1831 3,234 +1.37% 1836 2,795 −2.88% 1841 2,609 −1.37% 1846 2,869 +1.92% 1851 2,837 −0.22% 1856 2,710 −0.91% 1861 2,739 +0.21% 1866 2,570 −1.27% 1872 2,566 −0.03% 1876 3,062 +4.52% 1881 2,781 −1.91% 1886 2,657 −0.91% 1891 2,797 +1.03% 1896 3,062 +1.83%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 3,593 +3.25% 1906 4,062 +2.48% 1911 4,242 +0.87% 1921 5,301 +2.25% 1926 6,460 +4.03% 1931 7,128 +1.99% 1936 7,334 +0.57% 1946 7,979 +0.85% 1954 8,973 +1.48% 1962 11,261 +2.88% 1968 12,601 +1.89% 1975 14,120 +1.64% 1982 15,122 +0.98% 1990 17,864 +2.10% 1999 19,323 +0.88% 2007 20,903 +0.99% 2012 20,616 −0.28% 2017 20,794 +0.17%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Politics

The commune of Gardanne was governed by the French Communist Party under Mayor Roger Meï from 1977 until 2020. Voting is usually towards the left-wing, but rather uncharacteristically, Nicolas Sarkozy gained 53.1% of the vote at the second round of the 2007 French presidential election.

List of successive mayors

Term	Name	Party
1977–2020	Roger Meï	PCF
2020–incumbent	Herve Granier	LR

Picture gallery

• 
  Centrale Thermique de Provence and the preserved Puits Z
• 
  Puits Yvon-Morandat
• 
  Cooling tower of the coal-fired Centrale Thermique de Provence

See also

• Provence Power Station
• Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department
• Olivier Dubuquoy

External links

• Official website (in French)