Le Lavandou

Le Lavandou (pronounced [lə lavɑ̃du]; Occitan: Lo Lavandor) is a seaside commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 5,985. Le Lavandou derives its name either from the flower lavender (lavanda in Provençal) that is prevalent in the area,[3] or more prosaically from the local form of the Occitan name for lavoir, lavandor (for lavador, a public place for washing clothes).

Le Lavandou Lo Lavandor (Occitan)
Commune
A view within the commune
Coat of arms
Location of Le Lavandou
Le Lavandou Show map of France Le Lavandou Show map of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Coordinates: 43°08′19″N 6°22′06″E
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Var
Arrondissement	Toulon
Canton	La Crau
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Gil Bernardi[1]
Area 1	29.65 km2 (11.45 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2020)[2]	5,980
• Density	200/km2 (520/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	83070 /83980
Elevation	0–485 m (0–1,591 ft) (avg. 10 m or 33 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The (then) village is where the famous popular song A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square was written in the summer of 1939.[4] The words were by Eric Maschwitz and the music by Manning Sherwin, with its title ‘stolen’ from a story by Michael Arlen. The song had its first performance in a local bar, where the melody was played on piano by Manning Sherwin with the help of the resident saxophonist. Maschwitz sang the words while holding a glass of wine, but nobody seemed impressed.[5]

In the spring of 2002, an attempt was made to find the bar where this classic song was first performed with the view to having a blue plaque set up. With the help of the local tourist office, elderly residents were questioned, but it proved impossible to establish the venue.[4]

In September 2000, the mayor passed an unusual bylaw making it illegal to die in the town. The mayor described his own bylaw as "absurd ... to counter an absurd situation"; the "absurd situation" was that with the town's cemetery already full, a court in Nice had denied permission for a new cemetery because it would mar the beauty of the selected site.[6]