Blieux

Commune in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Blieux
Blieus (Occitan)
Commune
A ravine in the territory of the Blieux commune
A ravine in the territory of the Blieux commune
Coat of arms of Blieux
Coat of arms
Location of Blieux
Map
(2020–2026)
Gérard Collomp[1]
Area
1
56.8 km2 (21.9 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
54
 • Density0.95/km2 (2.5/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
04030 /04330
Elevation831–1,921 m (2,726–6,302 ft)
(avg. 950 m or 3,120 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Blieux (French pronunciation: [blijø]; Occitan: Blieus) is a rural commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France.

History

The commune of Blieux first appeared on maps in 1100.[3]

Much later, during the French Revolution, records show that the residents of Blieux had created a political club (patriotic society), which was very common at the time. (See Jacobin Club).[4]

Name of the commune

According to Ernest Nègre, the first recorded name for the commune, Bleus, was derived from the Occitan word bleusse, meaning 'dry'. This was likely a reference to the local soil.[5] By contrast, Charles Rostaing argues that the name derives from the pre-Indo-European root word, *BL, meaning 'mountain in the form of a spur'.[6]

La Melle, the name of a nearby hamlet, comes from the Celtic word, mello, meaning an elevated location.[7]

Economy

Historically, Blieux was a pastoral community, with a yearly alpine grazing cycle known as transhumance. As with much of Provence, tourism the primary source of economic activity today[citation needed].

Geography

The village is located at an altitude of 950m,[3] in the valley formed by a tributary of the river Asse, known as the 'Asse de Blieux'.

Hamlets

  • le Bas-Chadoul
  • la Melle
  • la Tuilière
  • Thon
  • La Castelle

Summits and passes

  • Mont Chiran (1905 m)
  • le Grand Mourre (1898 m)
  • Crête de Montmuye (Montmuye ridge) (Highest point: 1621 m)
  • Le Mourre de Chanier ( 1930 m)

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 59—    
1975 54−1.26%
1982 59+1.27%
1990 57−0.43%
1999 59+0.38%
2009 56−0.52%
2014 59+1.05%
2020 55−1.16%
Source: INSEE[8]

With the exception of those that have been totally abandoned, Blieux is one of the communities in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department that has experienced the greatest population decline from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries.

Inhabitants are known as Blieuxois (masculine) and Blieuxoises (feminine) in French.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b de La Torre, Michel (1989). Deslogis-Lacoste (ed.). Alpes-de-Haute-Provence : le guide complet des 200 communes (in French). Paris. p. 72. ISBN 2-7399-5004-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ Patrice Alphand, « Les Sociétés populaires», La Révolution dans les Basses-Alpes, Annales de Haute-Provence, bulletin de la société scientifique et littéraire des Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, no. 307, 1989, pp. 296-298
  5. ^ Ernest Nègre, Toponymie générale de la France : étymologie de 35 000 noms de lieux, Genève : Librairie Droz, 1990. Volume II : Formations dialectales. Notice 23793, p 1281
  6. ^ Charles Rostaing, Essai sur la toponymie de la Provence (depuis les origines jusqu’aux invasions barbares), Laffite Reprints, Marseille, 1973, p. 85
  7. ^ Rostaing, p. 206
  8. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
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