Canet-en-Roussillon

Canet-en-Roussillon (French pronunciation: [kane ɑ̃ ʁusijɔ̃]; Catalan: Canet de Rosselló, [kəˈnɛt ˈde rusəˈʎo]; Occitan: Canet de Rosselhon, [kaˈnet de ruseˈʎu]) is a commune and town in the French department of the Pyrénées-Orientales, administrative region of Occitania.^[3]

Canet-en-Roussillon Canet de Rosselló (Catalan)
Commune
Aerial view of the port and the sea front at Canet-en-Roussillon
Coat of arms
Location of Canet-en-Roussillon
Canet-en-Roussillon Show map of France Canet-en-Roussillon Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 42°42′24″N 3°00′28″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Perpignan
Canton	La Côte Sableuse
Intercommunality	Perpignan Méditerranée Métropole
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Stéphane Loda[1]
Area 1	30.22 km2 (11.67 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	13,005
• Density	430/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	canétois (fr) canetenc, canetaire (ca)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	66037 /66140
Elevation	0–37 m (0–121 ft) (avg. 6 m or 20 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Canet-en-Roussillon is located in the canton of La Côte Sableuse and in the arrondissement of Perpignan, 9.4 km (5.8 mi) to the east of Perpignan.

It is part of the Northern Catalan comarca of Rosselló.

Map of Canet-en-Roussillon and its surrounding communes

History

The city walls were destroyed in the 19th century.

With the development of sea bathing, the first beach settlement for bathers of the coast of Pyrénées-Orientales was created by Louise Lombard in 1849.^[4] As early as 1854 municipal laws were established regulating types of bathing suits and separating sea bathing zones for men and women.^[5]

Government and politics

Mayors

Signature of mayor Basile Darbon in 1910.

The town hall.

Mayor[6]	Term start	Term end		Party
Joseph Cassanyes	1790	1792
Jacques Bonet	1792	1795
Jacques Cassanyes	1796	1797
Julien Canal	1798	1798
Jacques Cassanyes	1799	1800
Jacques Bonet	1800	1813
Joseph Cassanyes	February 1813	28 October 1814
Saturnin Cargoles	1814	1826
Antoine Gaux	1826	1831
Joseph Cassanyes Jr.	1831	1848
Julien Canal Jr.	March 1848	June 1848		Temporary Mayor
Pierre Roger	June 1848	September 1848		Temporary Mayor
Joseph Cassanyes	September 1848	August 1851
Julien Canal	August 1851	December 1851		Temporary Mayor
Julien Canal	1851	1865
Jean Bartissol	1865	September 1870
Michel Pages	September 1870	December 1870
Joseph Berga	1870	1874
Côme Roger	1874	1881
Jean Lafon	1881	1890
Jacques Xamma	1891	1892
Henri Castany	1892	1904
Basile Darbon	1904	May 1912
Isidore Boutet[7]	May 1912	1918
François Alies[8]	1918	1919
Joseph Lafon	1920	1925
Jacques Xamma	1925	1930
Joseph Lafon	1929	1930
Gabriel Henric	1930	1941
Désiré Riu	1941	1943
Pierre Fourcade	1943	1944
Gabriel Henric	1944	1947
Joseph Pagès	1947	1950
François Moudat	1950	1965
Christian Brignieu	1965	1966
François Moudat	1966	1971
Jacques Coupet	1971	1989
Arlette Franco	1989	2010		UMP
Bernard Dupont	2010	2020		UMP
Stéphane Loda	2020	incumbent		DVD

International relations

Canet-en-Roussillon is twinned with:

• Maynooth, Ireland

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 225 —     1800 281 +3.23% 1806 233 −3.07% 1821 365 +3.04% 1831 384 +0.51% 1836 388 +0.21% 1841 405 +0.86% 1846 466 +2.85% 1851 509 +1.78% 1856 498 −0.44% 1861 524 +1.02% 1866 612 +3.15%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1872 662 +1.32% 1876 754 +3.31% 1881 806 +1.34% 1886 887 +1.93% 1891 914 +0.60% 1896 1,012 +2.06% 1901 1,026 +0.28% 1906 1,102 +1.44% 1911 1,215 +1.97% 1921 1,226 +0.09% 1926 1,230 +0.07% 1931 1,199 −0.51%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1936 1,238 +0.64% 1946 1,213 −0.20% 1954 1,853 +5.44% 1962 2,646 +4.55% 1968 3,658 +5.55% 1975 4,356 +2.53% 1982 6,030 +4.76% 1990 7,575 +2.89% 1999 10,182 +3.34% 2007 12,164 +2.25% 2012 12,602 +0.71% 2017 12,130 −0.76%
Source: EHESS[9] and INSEE (1968-2017)[10]

Sites of interest

The sea front and the beach at Canet-en-Roussillon

• The medieval castle ;
• The Saint-James church ;
• The Château de l'Esparrou, a 19th c. manor ;
• The old village ;

• Canet-Saint-Nazaire lake ;

• The sea front.

Notable people

• Arlette Franco (1939-2010), mayor of Canet-en-Roussillon, deputy to the National Assembly of France and vice-president of the French Swimming Federation.
• Marc Fontan (1956-), motorcycle road racer born in Canet-en-Roussillon.

See also

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department
• Gare de Perpignan murders - a victim was found in Canet-en-Roussillon.
• XL Airways Germany Flight 888T - an air crash that happened 7 kilometers from the commune.