Arbent

Arbent
Town Hall and Fountain
Flag Coat of arms
Arbent
Location within Rhône-Alpes region Arbent
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Ain
Arrondissement	Nantua
Canton	Oyonnax-Nord
Intercommunality	Haut Bugey
Government
• Mayor (2008–2020)	Liliane Maissiat
Area1	23.49 km2 (9.07 sq mi)
Population (2009)2	3,493
• Density	150/km2 (390/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	01014 / 01100
Elevation	435–1,100 m (1,427–3,609 ft) (avg. 535 m or 1,755 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Arbent is a French commune in the department of Ain in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Arbanais or Arbanaises

The commune has been awarded two flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.

Geography

The commune of Arbent is in the extreme north of the department of Ain at the northern edge of the Upper Bugey. It is in the Jura mountains at the door of the Regional Natural Park of Upper Jura.

Arbent is about 35 km north-east of Bourg-en-Bresse and 2 km north of Oyonnax. It can be accessed from the south-west by Highway A404 which terminates in the commune. It is also accessed by road D31 from Oyonnax in the south which intersects the termination of the A404 and continues to Dortan in the north-west. The D85 road also goes from Oyonnax to the village (which is a northern continuation of the Oyonnax conurbation) and continues west to Viry. The south-west of the commune is an extension of the conurbation of Oyonnax with the rest of the commune being heavily forested mountains.

The Ruisseau de Merdanson rises in the south of the commune and joins with the Ruisseau de Col du Lary flowing north then west through the village then west and north to join the Bienne river.

Climate

The climate type is semi-continental, with cold winters, hot summers and precipitation falling mainly in summer.

Heraldry

Blazon: Or, in chief a gusset couped of argent, in base a caliper with a branch to sinister all in sable debruised by two cutlasses of argent saltirewise with handles gules over all tied in Or.

Communications and transport

Transport

The railway from Oyonnax in Arbent

A bus runs regularly in the town. It comes from the neighbouring town of Oyonnax. A railway station previously existed in the town but the proximity of Oyonnax caused disinterest and it closed. Arbent is located on the Andelot-en-Montagne - La Cluse railway line.

Air transport

Aerial view of Arbent with the aerodrome visible

The commune has an aerodrome shared with the commune of Oyonnax. It can accommodate helicopters and business aircraft but is mostly used by the Jean Coutty Aeroclub for leisure and pilot training. An air show is held every year.

Urban planning

Urban morphology

The commune of Arbent is divided into two areas. The first part is on the edge of the Jura department to the north. It is the location of the town hall. Two kilometres to the south is Marchon which is attached to the commune of Oyonnax.

Housing

The total number of dwellings in the town of 1182. Among these units, 96.4% are primary residences, 1.2% are second homes, and 2.5% are vacant housing. These lodging units are 60.1% of detached houses, 37.6% apartments, and only 2.3% are other types of housing. The proportion of people in their own home is 57.1%. This is higher than the national average which is 55.3%. As a result, the proportion of tenants is 39.5% of all housing which is inversely lower than the national average of 39.8%. It may also be noted that 3.4% of the population of the commune are people with free accommodation while at the level of the whole of France the average percentage is 4.9%. Of all the commune housing units: 1.3% are studio size, 9.7% are two bedroom accommodations, 19% have three bedrooms, 30.2% of homes have four bedrooms and 39.9% of homes have five or more bedrooms.

Administration

Arbent Community Hall

The municipal council of the commune is composed of 27 councillors. The executive consists of the mayor, Liliane Maissiat, and seven assistants, each with defined tasks. The First Assistant is responsible for financial and administrative affairs, employment, and economic forecasting. Thee is an assistant for education, for work related technical services. for communications, for public relations, for entertainment and cultural life, for urban planning, land use, environment and forest, for social affairs and housing, and finally for sports associations and life. Nineteen other councillors attend the municipal council.

List of mayors of Arbent

From	To	Name	Party	Position
1993	2001	André Minery
2001	2020	Liliane Maissiat	UMP

(Not all data is known)

Twinning

The commune has developed twinning in order to promote school exchanges, sporting, cultural, and social relations between Communes.

• Plouhinec, Finistère (France) since 28 May 2005.

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 3,476 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses conducted in the town since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.

Population Change (See database)

1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851
696	801	842	941	1,048	1,023	971	1,025	1,025

1856	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896
932	947	852	885	870	752	852	775	750

1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954
791	850	822	792	919	961	829	794	864

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2007	2008
1,035	1,255	1,400	2,766	3,369	3,610	3,464	3,443	3,433

2009	2010	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3,493	3,476	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

Population of Arbent

Economy

Income and taxation

According to the INSEE survey in 1999, the average household income is EUR 22,015 per year, while the national average is 15,027 euros per year. There is no liability for the solidarity tax on wealth (ISF) in Nantua.

Employment

The population of Arbent is divided into 48.2% working, which is higher than the national average of 45.2%, and 10.5% retired, a figure lower than the 18.2% national average. There are also 30.5% of the population of young people in school and 10.8% of other people without work.

The working rate for the population 20 to 59 years old is 85% with a rate of unemployment of 9% in 1999 - well below the national average of 12.9% unemployed.

Distribution of employment by industry

	Agricultural	Trades, Shopkeepers, Company Managers	Intellectuals and Professionals	Intermediate Professions	Employees	Workers
Arbent	0%	7.2%	7.4%	18.3%	16.3%	50.8%
National Average	2.4%	6.4%	12.1%	22.1%	29.9%	27.1%
Source of data: INSEE

Culture and heritage

Monument to the Maquis

Civil heritage

The commune has a number of buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments or historical objects:

• A Travellers Halt (1889)
• A Railway Bridge and 2 Tunnels at Rue du Point B (1886)
• A Railway Bridge in Montagre (1886)
• A Railway Crossing (No. 84) at Prés de Voye (1886)
• A Vaulted Aqueduct (1886)
• A Railway cutting Retaining Wall at Prés de Voye (1886)
• A Railway Bridge at Prés de Voye (1886)
• A Mechanical Disc Signal at Marais Sud (20th century)
• A Railway Telephone at Prés de Voye (20th century)

Other sites of interest

Other points of interest in Arbent include historical buildings, a sports complex, and walks in the surrounding woods.

Religious heritage

The Church of Saint Laurent (15th century) is registered as an historical monument. It contains a Lectern (17th century) which is registered as an historical object.

Photo Gallery

• 

  The Church of Saint-Laurent

• 
• 

  Old Lavoir at Marchon

• 

  War Memorial

• 

  Statue on the War memorial

• The Chapel Saint-Oyen

Facilities

Education

The Jean-Rostand College at Marchon is classified as a successful ambition.

Media

The newspaper Le Progrès publishes a local edition for the communes of Upper Bugey. It appears from Monday to Sunday and discusses various news, sporting, and cultural events at the local, national, and international levels.

The newspaper La Voix de l'Ain is a weekly publication offering local information for different regions of the department of Ain.

France 3 Rhône Alpes Auvergne is available in the region.

Notable people linked to the commune

• Louis Aleman, French cardinal of the 15th century
• General Andrea, military man and French writer of the 20th century, author of The Druze revolt and the insurrection in Damascus, Payot, 1937

See also

• Communes of the Ain department

External links

• Arbent on Lion1906
• Arbent on Google Maps
• Arbent on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (French)
• Arbant on the 1750 Cassini Map
• Arbent on the INSEE website (French)
• INSEE (French)