Marmande

Marmande
The church and cloister in Marmande The church and cloister in Marmande
Coat of arms of Marmande Coat of arms
Marmande
Location within Aquitaine region Marmande
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes
Department	Lot-et-Garonne
Arrondissement	Marmande
Canton	Marmande
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes du Val de Garonne
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Gérard Gouzes
Area1	45.06 km2 (17.40 sq mi)
Population (2007)2	17,161
• Density	380/km2 (990/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	470157 / 47200
Elevation	12–132 m (39–433 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.

Marmande (in Occitan, Marmanda) is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne département in south-western France.

Geography

Marmande is located 35 km north-west of Agen, on the southern railway from Bordeaux to Sète. The town is situated at the confluence of the Trec with the Garonne on the right bank of the latter river, which is crossed at this point by a suspension bridge. There is a second bridge to the west of Marmande which connects the D933 from the Toulouse/Bordeaux motorway (A62) to the new by-pass, opened in July 2009, which now leads to Bergerac and the département of the Dordogne. Marmande ranks 481st in terms of population for the whole of France. A noted producer of tomatoes, a festival dedicated to tomatoes is held annually in July.

History

Marmande was a bastide founded about 1195 on the site of a more ancient town by Richard Cœur de Lion, who granted it a liberal measure of self-government. Its position on the banks of the Garonne made it an important place of toll. It soon passed into the hands of the counts of Toulouse, and was three times besieged and taken during the Albigensian Crusade, its capture by Amaury de Montfort in 1219 being followed by a massacre of the inhabitants. It was united to the French crown under Louis IX. A short occupation by the English in 1447, an unsuccessful siege by Henry IV in 1577 and its resistance of a month to a division of Wellington's army in 1814, are some important events in its subsequent history.

Sights

Apart from the administrative offices, the most notable building is the church of Notre-Dame, which dates from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. The windows of the nave, the altarpiece of the 18th century and, in particular, the Renaissance cloister adjoining the south side, are some of its most interesting features.

Economy

The town is renowned for its tomato production. The average income per household is 16,482 €/year.

People linked to the commune

• Jean-Pierre Fourcade : born in Marmande 18 October 1929 ; Minister of Economy and Finances from 1974 to 1976 (Prime minister: Jacques Chirac) ; Minister of Equipment in 1976/1977 (Prime minister : Raymond Barre); Mayor of Boulogne-Billancourt (1995–2007) and Senator of Hauts-de-Seine since 1977.
• Hubert Ruffe : born in Penne-d'Agenais 29 August 1899, died 28 August 1995 ; active in the 1920s in defence of peasants, he was elected as a communist deputy for the Marmande constituency in 1946 and re-elected to this post seven times between 1946 and 1981. He appeared in 1974 in Jean-Daniel Simon' film Il pleut toujours où c'est mouillé, playing himself and describing the difficulties faced by peasants during that period.
• Renaud Jean : born in Marmande (1887–1961) ; leader of peasant syndicalism in France during the interwar period and first communist peasant deputy, in 1920, for the Marmande constituency. He was re-elected.
• Léopold Faye : born 16 November 1828 in Marmande ; died 5 September 1900 in Birac. He had been mayor of Marmande, then occupied national offices : Minister of public instruction, religion and fine arts (12 December 1887 – 3 April 1888), then Minister of Agriculture in 1889.
• Jean-Jules Brun : born in Marmande 24 April 1849, died 1911, Minister of War under the Third Republic, from 24 July 1909 to 27 February 1911 (First government of Aristide Briand). General.
• Paul Bourrillon (1877–1942) : cyclist
• François Combefis : Dominican, born in Marmande in 1605.
• Tristan Derème : poet, born in Marmande in 1899.
• Pierrick Fédrigo : cyclist, born in Marmande 20 November 1978.
• Jean-Paul Cousin : graphic designer
• Jean-Pierre de Vincenzi : basketball trainer, born in Marmande 27 March 1957, trainer of the French basketball team that became vice champions at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Technical director of the Fédération Française de Basket-Ball.
• Jean-Jacques Crenca : rugby union player
• Patrick Murillo : double champion of Europe in full contact karate (1996 et 1997) and kickboxing (champion of France 1994) as well as college music teacher at the cité scolaire de Marmande.
• Francesca Solleville : French singer, grand daughter of the Italian socialist Luigi Campolonghi, spent part of her childhood in Marmande. In 1990 she wrote a song called "Marmande" for her album Je suis ainsi.
• Laurent Queyssi : author, screenwriter and translator.
• Jean Baylac : former leader of a local resistance network, deputy mayor of Marmande, Deputy Poujadist in 1956.
• Robert Dangas : film director and photographer, was born in rue des Remparts 2 June 1942 and lived in Marmande until 1952.
• Jean-Claude Dubreuil : novelist
• Pierre Deluns-Montaud : 1845 - 1907, Deputy for Marmande constituency (6 April 1879 to 31 May 1898), Minister of public works (prime minister: Charles Floquet) 3 April 1888 to 14 February 1889.

Twin towns

• Ejea de los Caballeros, Spain
• Portogruaro, Italy
• Peso da Régua, Portugal

See also

• Côtes du Marmandais
• Communes of the Lot-et-Garonne department

References

• INSEE commune file
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 

External links

• (French) Official web site