Frontignan

For the French wine grape also known as Frontignan, see Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. For the California wine grape also known as Frontignan, see Burger (grape).
Frontignan
Frontignan la Peyrade

Town hall

Coat of arms
Frontignan

Coordinates: 43°26′54″N 3°45′22″E / 43.4483°N 3.7561°E / 43.4483; 3.7561Coordinates: 43°26′54″N 3°45′22″E / 43.4483°N 3.7561°E / 43.4483; 3.7561
Country France
Region Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées
Department Hérault
Arrondissement Montpellier
Canton Frontignan
Intercommunality Bassin de Thau
Government
  Mayor (20142020) Pierre Bouldoire (PS)
Area1 31.72 km2 (12.25 sq mi)
Population (2006)2 23,169
  Density 730/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 34108 / 34110
Elevation 0–223 m (0–732 ft)
(avg. 2 m or 6.6 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Frontignan-la Peyrade (French pronunciation: [fʁɔ̃tiɲɑ̃ lapɛˈʁad]; Occitan: Frontinhan) is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France.

Frontignan is renowned for its AOC wine, the Muscat de Frontignan, a sweet wine made solely from the Muscat grape variety.

Map

Geography

View from La Gardiole Mountain.

Frontignan is located in the Languedoc coastal plain between the towns of Sète and Montpellier.

The town is surrounded by the Gardiole mountain range in the north, the Ingril lagoon in the east, the Étang de Thau in the west and the Mediterranean shore (including the beach resort Frontignan-Plage) in the south.

The Rhône-Sète canal separates the inland town centre and Frontignan-Plage.

History

Population

In 1800, Frontignan was home to around 1400 individuals. Until the 20th century, Frontignan had a population of less than 4000. In 2008, there were over 23,000.

Sights

The beach at Frontignan-Plage.

Economy

Les Crozes neighbourhood, seen from Les Salins

Until the early 20th century the local economy was based on the production of marine salt and wine. Later petro-chemical and chemical industries predominate with a steady decline in the 1980s. The oil refinery that opened in 1900 was converted to a simple depot in 1986.

Since the end of the 20th century, modern fisheries and high-tech plastics take over. Seasonal tourism is a dominant part of the local economy.

Important businesses in Frontignan include:

Culture

International relations

Frontignan is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. Pelayo, D. (2009) L'accident de Paul Reynaud. l'Agglorieuse.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frontignan.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 23, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.