La Seyne-sur-Mer

La Seyne-sur-Mer (French pronunciation: [la sɛjn(ə) syʁ mɛʁ]; lit. "La Seyne on Sea"; Occitan: La Sanha), or simply La Seyne, is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. La Seyne-sur-Mer, which is part of the agglomeration of Toulon, is situated adjacent to the west of the city.

La Seyne-sur-Mer La Sanha (Occitan)
Commune
Fort Balaguier
Coat of arms
Location of La Seyne-sur-Mer
La Seyne-sur-Mer Show map of France La Seyne-sur-Mer Show map of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Coordinates: 43°06′00″N 5°52′59″E
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Var
Arrondissement	Toulon
Canton	La Seyne-sur-Mer-1 and 2
Intercommunality	Métropole Toulon Provence Méditerranée
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Nathalie Bicais[1] (LR)
Area 1	22.17 km2 (8.56 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	62,905
• Density	2,800/km2 (7,300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	83126 /83500
Elevation	0–352 m (0–1,155 ft) (avg. 9 m or 30 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Demographics

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of La Seyne-sur-Mer proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune ceded territory to the new commune of Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer in 1950.^[3]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 3,980 —     1800 4,895 +3.00% 1806 4,826 −0.24% 1821 5,605 +1.00% 1831 6,732 +1.85% 1836 6,344 −1.18% 1841 7,099 +2.27% 1846 6,497 −1.76% 1851 7,401 +2.64% 1856 8,709 +3.31% 1861 11,700 +6.08% 1866 11,192 −0.88% 1872 10,123 −1.66% 1876 10,655 +1.29% 1881 12,072 +2.53% 1886 13,166 +1.75% 1891 14,332 +1.71% 1896 16,341 +2.66%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 21,002 +5.15% 1906 19,747 −1.22% 1911 22,093 +2.27% 1921 23,168 +0.48% 1926 24,678 +1.27% 1931 26,817 +1.68% 1936 27,073 +0.19% 1946 26,172 −0.34% 1954 26,672 +0.24% 1962 33,570 +2.92% 1968 43,783 +4.53% 1975 51,155 +2.25% 1982 57,659 +1.72% 1990 59,968 +0.49% 1999 60,188 +0.04% 2009 61,514 +0.22% 2014 64,675 +1.01% 2020 62,232 −0.64%
Source: EHESS[3] and INSEE (1968-2020)[4]

Economy

A view of the marina and town centre in La Seyne-sur-Mer

In earlier decades, La Seyne-sur-Mer owed its importance to the shipbuilding trade, the Société des Forges et Chantiers de la Mediterranée having here one of the finest shipbuilding yards in Europe (it was a branch of the larger establishment at Marseille), which gave employment to about 3,000 workers.^[5]

In recent years the town has moved from its traditional industries to tourism. The docks previously used have had extensive work and now comprise a park, marinas and a new (2010) hotel overlooking Toulon and the marinas.

The population is diverse in origins and the outer suburbs are undergoing a transformation with old multi storey apartments being replaced with modern developments. La Seyne has a railway station, Gare de La Seyne-Six-Fours, on the line from Toulon to Marseille.

Iraq's "Osiris class" nuclear reactors, later destroyed by Israel in Operation Opera, were built in La Seyne-sur-Mer.^[6]

Buildings and structures

The Hôtel de Ville

• The Hôtel de Ville completed in 1959^[7]
• Pont basculant de la Seyne-sur-Mer, a former bascule bridge
• Institut Michel-Pacha, a building in the néo-mauresque style which hosted a research laboratory in marine biology from 1900 until 2008.

Personalities linked to La Seyne-sur-Mer

• Jean Gaspard de Vence (1747–1808)
• Napoléon Bonaparte (1769–1821)
• George Sand (1804–1876)
• Michel Pacha (1819–1907)
• Henri Rieunier (1833–1918)
• Maurice Tranchant de Lunel (1869-1944), French architect died in La Seyne
• Jean Marquet (1883–1954)
• Henri Olive Tamari (1898–1980)
• Édouard Jauffret (1900–1945)
• Fernand Bonifay (1920–1993)
• Gabriel Pérès (1920–2004)
• Pierre Moustiers (1924–2016)
• Johannès Galland (1934)
• Henri Tisot (1937–2011)
• Andrzej "André" Orliński (1954), Polish adventurer, musician and philosopher
• Valerie Hirschfield (1964)
• Léon Loppy (1966)
• Marcus Malte (1967)
• Frédéric Meyrieu (1968)
• Gérald Orsoni (1972)
• Patrice Collazo (1974)
• Marc Zanotti (1975)
• Sylvain Prudhomme (1979), French writer
• Sébastien Squillaci (1980)
• Mohamed Sy (1980)
• Camille Traversa (1981)
• Pascal Ragondet (1983)
• John Revox (1983)
• Sébastien Bisciglia (1984)
• Alexis Farjaudon (1985)
• Bafétimbi Gomis (1985), footballer currently playing for Al-Hilal FC
• Fabien Lamatina (1985)
• Pier-Nicol Feldis (1986)
• Jérôme J. Dufourg (1986)
• Bruno Lancelle (1986)
• Emmanuel Ragondet (1987)
• Jonathan Tornato (1989)
• Mickaël Ivaldi (1990)
• Nampalys Mendy (1992)
• Gaël Fickou (1994)

See also

• Communes of the Var department