Le Barcarès

Le Barcarès (French pronunciation: [lə baʁkaʁɛs] ^ⓘ; Catalan: El Barcarès [əɫ bərkəˈɾɛs]) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

Le Barcarès El Barcarès (Catalan)
Commune
The Pic du Canigou seen from Port Murano, in Barcarès
Coat of arms
Location of Le Barcarès
Le Barcarès Show map of France Le Barcarès Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 42°47′21″N 3°02′11″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Perpignan
Canton	La Côte Salanquaise
Intercommunality	Perpignan Méditerranée Métropole
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Alain Ferrand[1] (LR)
Area 1	11.65 km2 (4.50 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	6,203
• Density	530/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	barcarésien (fr) barcaresenc (ca)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	66017 /66420
Elevation	0–4 m (0–13 ft) (avg. 1 m or 3.3 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

During the mid 19th century, Le Barcarès was created as a small fishing village which developed until the mid- 20th century prior to the local economy redirecting towards the tourism industry.^[3]

Le Barcarès 19th century restored fishing huts

At the end of the Spanish Civil War, Le Barcarès was the site of a camp housing Republican escapees from Spain.^[4] Conditions were slightly better than at other camps, as most internees sent there had indicated a willingness to return to Spain.^[5]

Geography

Localisation

Le Barcarès is located in the canton of La Côte Salanquaise and in the arrondissement of Perpignan.

It is part of the Northern Catalan comarca of Rosselló.

Map of Le Barcarès and its surrounding communes

Government and politics

Mayors

Mayor	Term start	Term end
Albert Got	May 1953	March 1983
Yvon Blanc	March 1983	March 1989
Claude Got	March 1989	June 1995
Alain Ferrand	June 1995	March 1999
Joëlle Ferrand	May 1999	June 2011
Marie Roses	June 2011	August 2011
Alain Ferrand	August 2011

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	1,197	—
1975	1,347	+1.70%
1982	2,208	+7.32%
1990	2,422	+1.16%
1999	3,514	+4.22%
2007	4,005	+1.65%
2012	4,080	+0.37%
2017	5,915	+7.71%
Source: INSEE[6]

Notable people

• Georges Candilis (1913-1995), Greek architect and urbanist who participated to the conception of Port-Barcarès.

See also

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department