Asperjoc

Asperjoc (French pronunciation: [aspɛʁʒɔk]; Occitan: Asperjòc) is a former commune in the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Vallées-d'Antraigues-Asperjoc.^[2]

Asperjoc
Part of Vallées-d'Antraigues-Asperjoc
The entry to Laulagnet
Location of Asperjoc
Asperjoc Show map of France Asperjoc Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 44°41′09″N 4°21′35″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Ardèche
Arrondissement	Largentière
Canton	Aubenas-1
Commune	Vallées-d'Antraigues-Asperjoc
Area 1	8.47 km2 (3.27 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[1]	360
• Density	43/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code	07600
Elevation	278–879 m (912–2,884 ft) (avg. 299 m or 981 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Asperjoc is located some 2 km north by north-west of Aubenas and 18 km west by south-west of Privas. Access to the commune is by the D 578 road from Antraigues-sur-Volane in the north which passes down the eastern border of the commune and continues south to Vals-les-Bains. The D 243 branches off the D 578 in the south of the commune and goes north-west through the commune and continues to Labastide-sur-Bésorgues. The commune has no village called Asperjoc but has several hamlets: les Beaumelles, la Brugeyre, le Chastelas, le Fau, Laulagnet, le Pont de Bridou, le Pont de l-Huile, la Praye, le Raccourci, le Rigaudel, Thieure, Tras Chabanne et la Valette inférieure. The commune is rugged and alpine in nature with little or no arable land.^[3]

The Volane river forms the entire eastern border of the commune as it flows south to join the Ardèche south of Vals-les-Bains. The Besorgues flows from the north-west of the commune south-east forming part of the western border of the commune and gathering many tributaries in the commune before joining the Volane at the southern corner.^[3]

Neighbouring communes and villages

^[3]

Administration

The Town Hall

List of Successive Mayors^[4]

From	To	Name
2001	2008	Louis Berthon
2008	2019	Alain Chiraussel

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Asperjocois in French.^[5]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 523 —     1800 532 +0.24% 1806 540 +0.25% 1821 555 +0.18% 1831 671 +1.92% 1836 684 +0.38% 1841 666 −0.53% 1846 681 +0.45% 1851 807 +3.45% 1856 1,078 +5.96% 1861 1,104 +0.48% 1866 1,060 −0.81% 1872 739 −5.83% 1876 789 +1.65% 1881 836 +1.16% 1886 858 +0.52% 1891 866 +0.19% 1896 856 −0.23%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 833 −0.54% 1906 806 −0.66% 1911 790 −0.40% 1921 679 −1.50% 1926 668 −0.33% 1931 635 −1.01% 1936 616 −0.61% 1946 538 −1.34% 1954 505 −0.79% 1962 453 −1.35% 1968 405 −1.85% 1975 407 +0.07% 1982 364 −1.58% 1990 370 +0.20% 1999 361 −0.27% 2007 336 −0.89% 2012 418 +4.46% 2021 360 −1.65%
Source: EHESS[6] and INSEE[7][1]

A street in Asperjoc

A road in Asperjoc

Distribution of Age Groups

The entry to Le Nogier

Asperjoc Landscape

The population of the town is relatively old. The ratio of persons above the age of 60 years (22.3%) is higher than the national average (21.6%) but lower than the departmental average (28.1%). As for national and departmental allocations, the male population of the town is less than the female population (48.8% against 48.4% nationally and 48.2% at the departmental level).

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Asperjoc and Ardèche Department in 2010

	Asperjoc	Asperjoc	Ardèche	Ardèche
Age Range	Men	Women	Men	Women
0 to 14 Years	19.0	17.6	18.6	16.8
15 to 29 Years	13.8	15.7	15.3	13.9
30 to 44 Years	24.8	17.1	19.4	18.5
45 to 59 Years	20.5	21.9	21.5	20.6
60 to 74 Years	16.2	18.1	16.5	16.8
75 to 89 Years	5.7	9.0	8.1	11.9
90 Years+	0.0	0.5	0.5	1.5

Sources:

• Evolution and Structure of the population of the Commune in 2010, INSEE.
• Evolution and Structure of the population of the Department in 2010, INSEE.

Sites and monuments

• Church from the 19th century
• La Chaise du Diable waterfall

See also

• Communes of the Ardèche department