Carqueiranne

Carqueiranne (French: [kaʁkeʁan], locally [kaʁkɛˈʁanə]; Occitan: Carcairana [kaɾkajˈɾanɔ] or Carqueirana [kaɾkejˈɾanɔ]) is a commune in the Var department, administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (historically Provence), Southeastern France.

Carqueiranne Carcairana (Occitan)
Commune
An aerial view of the town
Coat of arms
Location of Carqueiranne
Carqueiranne Show map of France Carqueiranne Show map of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Coordinates: 43°05′45″N 6°04′27″E
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Var
Arrondissement	Toulon
Canton	La Garde
Intercommunality	Métropole Toulon Provence Méditerranée
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Arnaud Latil[1]
Area 1	14.48 km2 (5.59 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	9,412
• Density	650/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Carqueirannais, Carqueirannaise (French)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	83034 /83320
Elevation	0–305 m (0–1,001 ft) (avg. 26 m or 85 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It is known now as a tourist seaside resort with good windsurfing nearby, at Almanarre Beach.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	4,449	—
1975	5,131	+2.06%
1982	6,199	+2.74%
1990	7,118	+1.74%
1999	8,436	+1.91%
2007	9,630	+1.67%
2012	9,899	+0.55%
2017	9,700	−0.41%
Source: INSEE[3]

Saint-Exupéry

The town has a literary claim to fame as well. In early August 1944, an unidentifiable body wearing French military colours was found near here, which was long believed^{[by whom?]} to be that of famous novelist Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince.

In 1998, a bracelet known to be his, with a fragment of cloth still attached, was found in the sea east of Riou Island (south of Marseille). In 2000, a crashed P-38 Lightning was found in the seabed off the coast of Marseille, near where the bracelet was found, and it was confirmed to be the one that Saint-Exupéry was flying.

However, it remains plausible that ocean currents could have carried the body from the crash site to Carqueiranne - a distance less than 80 kilometres (50 mi) by sea - over the course of several days, which is the time difference between the crash on 31 July 1944, and the discovery of the body.

See also

• Communes of the Var department