Blieux

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. In 2019, it had a population of 57.

Blieux
Blieus (Occitan)
A ravine in the territory of the Blieux commune
A ravine in the territory of the Blieux commune
Coat of arms of Blieux
Location of Blieux
Blieux is located in France
Blieux
Blieux
Blieux is located in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Blieux
Blieux
Coordinates: 43°52′24″N 6°22′18″E
CountryFrance
RegionProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
DepartmentAlpes-de-Haute-Provence
ArrondissementCastellane
CantonRiez
Government
  Mayor (20202026) Gérard Collomp[1]
Area
1
56.8 km2 (21.9 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2020)[2]
55
  Density0.97/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.

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.

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.±%
1765823    
1793913+10.9%
1800801−12.3%
1806818+2.1%
1821810−1.0%
1831907+12.0%
1836969+6.8%
1841876−9.6%
1846802−8.4%
1851780−2.7%
1856735−5.8%
1861736+0.1%
1866650−11.7%
1872598−8.0%
1876573−4.2%
1881560−2.3%
1886537−4.1%
1891508−5.4%
YearPop.±%
1896449−11.6%
1901442−1.6%
1906403−8.8%
1911374−7.2%
1921241−35.6%
1926200−17.0%
1931181−9.5%
1936160−11.6%
1946110−31.2%
1954100−9.1%
196273−27.0%
196859−19.2%
197554−8.5%
198259+9.3%
199057−3.4%
199959+3.5%
200857−3.4%

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).

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 2020". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2022.
  3. 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
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