Auriol, Bouches-du-Rhône

For other uses, see Auriol (disambiguation).

Auriol
The gates of the Home Legionnaire in Auriol
Coat of arms
Auriol
Location within Provence-A.-C.d'A. region Auriol
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Bouches-du-Rhône
Arrondissement	Marseille
Canton	Roquevaire
Intercommunality	Pays d'Aubagne et de l'Etoile
Government
• Mayor (2001–2020)	Danièle Garcia-Jacquet
Area1	44.64 km2 (17.24 sq mi)
Population (2010)2	11,764
• Density	260/km2 (680/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	13007 / 13390
Dialling codes	0491
Elevation	171–937 m (561–3,074 ft) (avg. 380 m or 1,250 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.

Auriol (Occitan: Auriòu) is a French commune situated in the Huveaune valley close to Roquevaire in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Auriolais or Auriolaises.

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

Geography

Auriol is located some 22 km east by north-east of Marseille and 10 km north by north-east of Aubagne. The eastern border of the commune is the departmental border between Bouches-du-Rhône and Var. Access to the commune is by the A52D autoroute which separates from the A52 autoroute at the western border of the commune and ends at the D560 road just east of the town. The D560 road branches from the D96 on the western border of the commune and passes east through the town and continues east to Saint-Zacharie. The D45A comes from La Bouilladisse in the north-west and passes through the commune south to join the D2 in the south of the commune. The D2 continues east to Plan-d'Aups-Sainte-Baume. Apart from the main town there are the urban areas of Le Pujol, Pont de Joux, Les Artauds, Le Maltrait, La Douronne, Moulin de Redon, Le Moulin de Redon, Le Plan de Moines, Les Helianthes, Le Braou, La Gardy, Basson, and Vede. The commune is urbanised through the centre with rugged terrain to the south and north.

The Huveaune river flows through the centre of the urban area from east to west then continues south to join the ocean in the 8th arrondissement of Marseille. The Ruisseau de la Gestaude rises in the south of the commune and flows north to join the Huveaune.

Neighbouring communes and villages

The village of Moulin de Redon is closer to Saint-Zacharie but is under the Auriol administration authority. The legend said that there was a race between town mayors. On a particular date, at the sun rising, the first mayor who reaches Moulin de Redon by foot will receive the village under his administration. Saint Zacharie is less than 2 km to Moulin de Redon, while Auriol is 5 km. The mayor of Saint Zacharie, deeply convinced of his victory slept too much, and arrived after the mayor of Auriol. It illustrates "The fable of the hare and the turtle" by Jean de La Fontaine.

History

There are many caves (Inferent caves, burial caves) in the Vède valley and shelters in the tuffs of Pont-de-Joux (tombs, Neolithic hatchets, skulls).

The Ligures were absorbed by the Celts in the Celto-Ligurian period. There are many oppida such as the oppidum of Bau Redon and the oppidum of Bau Rouge.

The Phoenicians arrived from the 6th century BC (Trésor d'Auriol) and the Romans from the 2nd century BC. The Battle of Arc resulted in victory for Marius over the Teutons at Campus Putridi. Marseille was taken by Julius Caesar in 49 BC.

There is an early Christian site at Saint-Pierre d'Auriol (early Christian altar with 12 doves, a church crypt, relics of Saint-Victor, the Cassian cult, Marie-Madeleine).

Isnard de Mauconseil (?-1395), squire and native of Aix, was co-lord of Auriol in 1378 with Squire Mison.

The death of Queen Joanna I of Naples created a crisis of succession for the County of Provence. The cities of the Union of Aix (1382-1387) supported Charles de Duras against Louis I of Anjou. The Auriol community initially supported Charles but were overrun by the troops of Louis early in the war (before 1385).

Auriol was ravaged by the plague of 1576-1584. The Castle was devastated by the Duke of Épernon in 1593. The Coat of arms of the village date back to 1697.

In July 1981 the commune was the scene of an infamous massacre involving the Service d'Action Civique (SAC) in which police inspector Jacques Massié and his entire family were massacred.

Heraldry

Blazon: Vert, a loriot bird of Or winged in Sable with tail half Sable and Or perched on a branch of Argent posed in bend leafed with two leaves of Vert hanging at dexter, joined at nombril point to a branch Argent couped in fesse.

The description of the former arms was: Or, a loriot bird of Vert perched on a branch posed in bend the same.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

From	To	Name	Party	Position
	1846	François Mathurin Baux
1900	1908	N	Honoré Plumier
1908	1924	Jean Baptiste Robert
1924	1928	Honoré Plumier
1928	1944	Jean Baptiste Robert
1944	1953	Marius Pascau
1953	1965	Adolphe Bonnet
1965	1970	Paul Feraud
1970	2001	Lucienne Martin
2001	2020	Danièle Garcia

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 11,764 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes 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
3,672	3,627	3,930	4,857	5,320	5,319	5,105	5,132	5,223

1856	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896
5,107	5,047	5,182	4,804	4,692	2,942	2,753	2,685	2,640

1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954
2,650	2,739	2,701	2,731	2,827	2,823	2,807	2,809	2,657

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2010	-
2,741	3,000	3,278	5,222	6,788	9,458	11,442	11,764	-

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

Population of Auriol

Economy

The economy of the commune is based on Viticulture, Olive Oil, and shopping (the Pujol Commercial Centre).

Culture and Heritage

The Wine-growing Cooperative building at Place Charles-Adrien (1924) is registered as an historical monument.

The War Memorial is registered on the Ministry of Culture Memoire database

The Church of Saint-Pierre contains one item that is registered as an historical object:

• A Painting: Adoration of Shepherds (18th century)

Notable people linked to the commune

• Thierry Amiel (1982-), singer and songwriter, grew up in Auriol
• Mathieu Flamini (1984-), footballer for Arsenal FC
• Alain Cantareil (1983-), footballer for Istres
• Mouss Diouf (1964-2012), French-Senegalese actor, comedian, and humourist, buried in the commune
• Charles Plumier (1646-1704), French botanist
• Henri Raybaud (1879-?), French sculptor, made the War Memorial in Auriol.

See also

• Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department

External links

• Auriol official commune website (French)
• Auriol Ensemble (French)
• Auriol on Lion1906
• Amiol on the 1750 Cassini Map
• Auriol on the INSEE website (French)
• INSEE (French)