Alpes-Maritimes

Coordinates: 43°50′N 7°10′E / 43.833°N 7.167°E / 43.833; 7.167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Alpes-Maritimes
Aups Maritims (Occitan)
Department of France
Clockwise from top: a view on the Mediterranean from Roquebrune-Cap-Martin; Lérins Abbey on Île Saint-Honorat; Saint-Dalmas-le-Selvage; prefecture building in Nice; and Mercantour National Park
Communes
163
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2
Logo of the department of Alpes-Maritimes

Alpes-Maritimes (French: [alp(ə)maʁitim]; Occitan: Aups Maritims; Italian: Alpi Marittime; lit. 'Maritime Alps') is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it encompasses the French Riviera alongside neighbouring Var. Alpes-Maritimes had a population of 1,094,283 in 2019.[3] Its prefecture (and largest city) is Nice, with Grasse as the sole subprefecture.

Alpes-Maritimes has become one of the world's most attractive tourist destinations in recent decades, featuring renowned cities and towns such as Nice, Grasse, Cannes, Antibes, Menton, Èze, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and Sainte-Agnès, as well as numerous alpine ski resorts.[4] It also entirely surrounds the Principality of Monaco. The department's inhabitants are called Maralpins (masculine) or Maralpines (feminine); its flag and arms are those of the City of Nice. In terms of politics, Alpes-Maritimes is one of France's most right-wing departments, as the majority led by The Republicans in the departmental council holds all but two of the 54 seats following the 2021 election.

Geography

Overview

The Alpes-Maritimes department is surrounded by the departments of Var in the southwest, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in the northwest; Italy to the north and east; and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It surrounds the Principality of Monaco on the west, north and east.

Geography of Alpes-Maritimes

Its topography is very mixed. As its name suggests, most of the department is a constituent part of the overall topographic Alps – including the Maritime Alps – but it also has the distinction of being a coastal district with its Mediterranean coast. The coastal area, urbanized and densely populated (shaded in red on the map), includes all the cities in an almost continuous conurbation from Cannes to Menton, while the larger but sparsely populated mountainous area (light green) is fully rural with the exception of the three large resorts of Valberg (created in 1936), Auron (created in 1937) and Isola 2000 (created in 1971).

Summits and passes

The highest point of the department is the

Cayolle Pass (2,326 metres, 7,631 ft) first on the way to the Alps and the sources of the Var in the commune of Entraunes. Then the route follows the Col de la Bonette – the highest pass in Europe at 2,715 metres (8,907 ft) – to connect to the valley of the Tinée then the Ubaye. Further east, the Col de la Lombarde (2,350 metres, 7,710 ft) above Isola 2000 allows access to the shrine of Saint-Anne de Vinadio in Italy. Finally, at its eastern end, the Col de Tende (1,871 metres, 6,138 ft) links with Cuneo
in Italy.

Landscape and forest vegetation

The only region of the Alps close to Nice has an afforestation rate of 60.9%, slightly higher than the average of the department and well above the average of 39.4% for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.[5]

The rivers in alphabetical order are:

Climate

It is the climate that made the Côte d'Azur famous. The current department of Alpes-Maritimes, however, does not have only one climate, the complex terrain and high mountains divide the department between those who are well exposed (the south-facing side) and those which are less (the north-facing side) and even with the mild Mediterranean climate there can be violent storms and prolonged droughts.

The coastal area has a

mountain climate
(winter quite bright, summer storms). Around Cannes is a particularly warm micro-climate due to the high hills warming the air which descends on the city.

One of the attractions of the department is its level of sunshine: over 300 days per year. Despite this the department is also the most stormy of France with an average of 70 to 90 thunderstorm days per year, arising from the differences in temperature due to a warm sea in autumn.

As soon as one moves away from the coast, towards the west of the department, the interior plains (in particular near Grasse) the climate is a little less temperate but just as sunny. In summer, the temperature very easily exceeds 30 °C (86 °F), while the average is only 27 °C (81 °F) along the Nice coast during July and August. Occasional frost is possible in the interior during winter, unlike in Nice and rest of the coast, where frost is very rare.

In the east of the department, unlike the west, there are no plains. In the Menton region, the altitude increases very rapidly inland, so the sea tempers the atmosphere much more: the maximum in summer is on average 25 °C (77 °F) and the winters are milder than in the interior and frost is very rare.

Snow is also rare along the coast, however, it happens that rare snowfall surprises the Côte d'Azur residents (on average every 5-7 years), as was the case in the winter of 2004–2005 when the city of Nice woke up with a few centimetres of snow, often creating traffic problems. More recently, in February 2010, more than 10 centimetres (3.9 in) of snow was measured in Cannes and nearly 30 centimetres (12 in) in the Grasse region.

In the north of the department the climate in the Alps is mountainous, and there is decent snow cover from end of November until late April.

Climate data for Nice
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 13.1
(55.6) 		13.4
(56.1) 		15.2
(59.4) 		17.0
(62.6) 		20.7
(69.3) 		24.3
(75.7) 		27.3
(81.1) 		27.7
(81.9) 		24.6
(76.3) 		21.0
(69.8) 		16.6
(61.9) 		13.8
(56.8) 		19.6
(67.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 9.2
(48.6) 		9.7
(49.5) 		11.6
(52.9) 		13.6
(56.5) 		17.4
(63.3) 		20.9
(69.6) 		23.8
(74.8) 		24.2
(75.6) 		21.0
(69.8) 		17.4
(63.3) 		12.9
(55.2) 		10.1
(50.2) 		16.0
(60.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 5.3
(41.5) 		5.9
(42.6) 		7.9
(46.2) 		10.2
(50.4) 		14.1
(57.4) 		17.5
(63.5) 		20.3
(68.5) 		20.5
(68.9) 		17.3
(63.1) 		13.7
(56.7) 		9.2
(48.6) 		6.3
(43.3) 		12.4
(54.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 69.0
(2.72) 		44.7
(1.76) 		38.7
(1.52) 		69.3
(2.73) 		44.6
(1.76) 		34.3
(1.35) 		12.1
(0.48) 		17.8
(0.70) 		73.1
(2.88) 		132.8
(5.23) 		103.9
(4.09) 		92.7
(3.65) 		733.0
(28.86)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 5.8 4.7 4.6 7.1 5.2 3.8 1.8 2.4 4.9 7.2 7.2 6.4 61.1
Mean monthly sunshine hours 158 171 217 224 267 306 348 316 242 187 149 139 2,724
Source: Meteorological data for Nice – 2 m altitude, from 1981 to 2010 January 2015 (in French)
Town Sunshine

(hours/yr) 		Rain

(mm/yr)		 Snow

(days/yr)		 Storm

(days/yr)		 Fog

(days/yr)
National average 1,973 770 14 22 40
Nice 2,724 733 1 29 1
Paris 1,661 637 12 18 10
Strasbourg 1,693 665 29 29 56
Brest 1,605 1,211 7 12 75

Subdivisions

Department map showing its division into the two arrondissements and the location of some of its principal cities and towns

Alpes-Maritimes is divided into two arrondissements: Grasse and Nice, twenty-seven cantons and 163 communes.[3]

As of 1 January 2014, there were seven

intercommunalities:[7]

Principal communes

The most populous commune is the prefecture Nice. As of 2019, there are 10 communes with more than 20,000 inhabitants:[3]

Commune Population (2019)
Nice 342,669
Cannes 74,545
Antibes 73,438
Cagnes-sur-Mer 52,178
Grasse 48,870
Le Cannet 41,887
Menton 30,525
Saint-Laurent-du-Var 29,169
Vallauris 27,364
Mandelieu-la-Napoule 21,998

History

The

Digne and Briançon
.

Conquered by the French First Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars, a department of Alpes-Maritimes was first set up in 1793 with different boundaries from those of the modern department. In 1793, Alpes-Maritimes included Monaco (Port Hercules), but not Grasse, which was then part of the department of Var as an historical part of France. In 1805, San Remo (San Rème) was included after the disbandment of the Ligurian Republic. In 1812, the department had three arrondissements with the following cantons:[9]

The population of the department in 1812 was 131,266, and its area was 3,226.74 square kilometres (1,245.85 sq mi), covering both present-day

Principality of Monaco and Province of Imperia.[9]

In 1814, at the close of the

Crown of Savoy by the Congress of Vienna
.

In 1860

plebiscite. The "Yes" vote for reunification with France was 83.8% of registered voters and 99.2% of votes.[10]

The new department of Alpes-Maritimes consisted of the former County of Nice, divided into an

Var department, which formed the Arrondissement of Grasse. However, the County of Nice did not include Tende and La Brigue
, which were still part of Piedmont-Sardinia.

For economic reasons, the Arrondissement of Puget-Théniers was merged into the Arrondissement of Nice in 1926. Since that time, the department has had two arrondissements.

In 1947, in accordance with the Treaty of Paris and as a referendum result favourable to their attachment to France, the communes of Tende and La Brigue (also parts of communes in the high valleys of Vésubie and Tinée: part the commune of Isola) which had not been ceded to France in 1860, were attached to the department.

Heraldry

Arms of Alpes-Maritimes and Nice
Arms of Alpes-Maritimes and Nice
 Blazon:

Argent, an eagle crowned of gules displayed with wings inverted, on a mountain of three hillocks sable issuant from the pointed waves of a sea azure waved in argent.



Administration

Politics

La République En Marche! (2017
).

Since the end of

La République En Marche! (REM) centrist party. Of the five members of the Senate who represent the department in the upper house of Parliament, four are right-wing (LR) and one is left-wing (Socialist Party
, PS). Of the 54 departmental councillors, 52 are aligned with the right-wing coalition and two are in the left-wing opposition.

In the

La République En Marche!
won a majority in the second round.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Alpes-Maritimes experienced corruption problems with its politicians, which led to several criminal convictions, including those of Nice Mayor Jacques Médecin and Cannes Mayor Michel Mouillot, as well as that of Antibes Mayor Pierre Merli, criminally indicted in 1995 for a real estate scam and convicted four years later.

Departmental Council of Alpes-Maritimes

The

MP for Alpes-Maritimes's 2nd constituency (2005–2007; 2007–2008; 2009–2010; 2012–2017). Both are members of The Republicans
(LR).

The coalition majority in the departmental council is one of the largest majorities in any such institution in France. Out of the 54 seats, only two are held by left-wing councillors, both elected in the canton of Grasse-2. In neighbouring Var, the right-wing coalition also holds all but two seats in the departmental council, although it is made up of less many seats and the two councillors in opposition are members of the far-right National Rally (RN). Following the 2021 departmental election, the seats were allocated as follows in Alpes-Maritimes:

Party Seats
• The Republicans 45
• Miscellaneous right 5
• Union of Democrats and Independents 1
•
La République En Marche!
 1
Europe Ecology – The Greens
 1
Socialist Party 1

Representation in Parliament

Members of the National Assembly

Alpes-Maritimes elected the following

MPs to the National Assembly in the 2022 legislative election
:

Constituency Member[12] Party
Alpes-Maritimes's 1st constituency Éric Ciotti The Republicans
Alpes-Maritimes's 2nd constituency Lionel Tivoli The Republicans
Alpes-Maritimes's 3rd constituency Philippe Pradal Horizons
Alpes-Maritimes's 4th constituency Alexandra Masson National Rally
Alpes-Maritimes's 5th constituency
Christelle d’Intorni
 The Republicans
Alpes-Maritimes's 6th constituency Bryan Masson National Rally
Alpes-Maritimes's 7th constituency Éric Pauget The Republicans
Alpes-Maritimes's 8th constituency Alexandra Martin The Republicans
Alpes-Maritimes's 9th constituency Michèle Tabarot The Republicans
Senators
See also: List of senators of Alpes-Maritimes

As of 2020, the department's five Senators are Marc Daunis (PS, since 2008), Colette Giudicelli (LR, since 2008), Jean-Pierre Leleux (LR, since 2008), Dominique Estrosi Sassone (LR, since 2014) and Henri Leroy (LR, since 2017).

Budget

In 2011, the draft departmental budget amounted to €1.3 billion of which 498 million (38.3%) was devoted to social action and 346 million to operations (26.6%).[13] Capital expenditures was just over 250 million euros (19.2%).[13]

In 2010, the department was the third most indebted in France with €942 million of debt or 68.4% of the annual budget.[14] This debt amounted to 2,460 euros per fiscal tax unit (household) and 859 euros per person.[14] The trend of change in debt over the last decade has been a sharp increase: + 440% between 2001 and 2009 and 26% between 2009 and 2010.[14] There was only €43 million in debt in 2003.

Projects

The Departmental Council of Alpes-Maritimes is currently sponsoring several large projects:[15]

  • construction of 10 residential facilities for the elderly
  • building dikes in the Var plain
  • creation of a STIC (science and information technology and communication) campus at Sophia Antipolis
  • construction of 337 units of social housing
  • establishment of facilities for the disabled
  • road construction
  • construction of schools and gyms (10)
  • construction of a centre of sustainable development
  • construction of the LGV Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
  • creation of the Eco Valley in the Plaine of the Var which will run from the Arena Quarter (which will be converted) to the village of Baus-Roux

The Alpes-Maritimes Departmental Council has charged 1 euro per vehicle journey in the department, regardless of distance, since 1 January 2008.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1806131,266—    
1821161,886+1.41%
1851192,062+0.57%
1861194,578+0.13%
1872199,037+0.21%
1881226,621+1.45%
1891258,571+1.33%
1901293,213+1.27%
1911356,338+1.97%
1921357,759+0.04%
1931493,376+3.27%
1936513,714+0.81%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1946453,073−1.25%
1954515,484+1.63%
1962618,265+2.30%
1968722,070+2.62%
1975816,681+1.77%
1982881,198+1.09%
1990971,829+1.23%
19991,011,326+0.44%
20061,073,184+0.85%
20111,081,244+0.15%
20161,083,704+0.05%
source:[16][17]

When Nice became part of France in 1860, it was still a small town; the department had fewer than 200,000 inhabitants. However, the population grew quickly from 300,000 at the beginning of the 20th century to over a million. The population is aging because of the number of retirees who move to the coast.

The population is now concentrated in the urban region that includes Antibes, Cannes, Grasse, Nice, and Menton, and which constitutes 90% of the total population.

The department had 1,083,310 inhabitants in 2017, making it the 20th most populated department in France.[18] There are 163 communes including 107 under 2000 inhabitants (representing a total of 60,065 inhabitants), 38 from 2000 to 9999 inhabitants (total 171,935 inhabitants), 13 between 10,000 and 49,999 inhabitants (total 263,102 inhabitants), 4 between 50,000 and 199,999 inhabitants (Antibes, Cannes, Cagnes-sur-Mer and Grasse, total 248,191 inhabitants), and one with over 200,000 inhabitants (Nice, with 340,017 inhabitants).[18] The population density was 252 inhabitants per square kilometre in 2017.

According to INSEE 39.5% of children born in 2011 in the department of Alpes-Maritimes have at least one parent born abroad (regardless of nationality), 15.4% have a father born in North Africa.[19]

The area is also known for its extremely large population of people of Italian descent. About 40% of the population of the Alpes-Maritimes claim their ancestry as being solely Italian, and as many as 80% of the population can trace some degree of ancestry back to Italy before it was annexed by France in the 1860s.[20]

Economy

The economy of the Alpes-Maritimes is characterized by the importance of the

industry
plays a relatively small role although it has diversified into activities with high technological value. The construction and public works sector is quite important. The economy is very sensitive to changes in the national and international situation. The rate of unemployment is 9.1%.

According to the INSEE, in 2005 the GDP per capita of the Alpes-Maritimes was 27,723 euros which ranked it as the thirteenth highest department in France.[21] GDP was 29.6 billion euros.[21] According to Eurostat, GDP per capita at market prices in 2008, the department had a GDP per capita of 30,700 euros, which is also ranked it thirteenth in France.[22]

Distribution of employment

Distribution of Employment
Services Sector Industry Construction & Public Works Agriculture
Alpes-Maritimes 76.2% 12.5% 9.2% 2,1%
National Average 71.5% 18.3% 6.1% 4.1%

Tourism is an essential industry for the entire coastal region (

Côte d'Azur) and is highly developed. On the coast, thanks to the mild climate, towns are resort destinations all year round. In the mountains, there are winter sports stations that have received abundant snow in recent years, particularly Isola 2000
.

There are also well-developed industries such as the

aerospace industry in Cannes-Mandelieu, where there is the first European satellite builders[23] and the first industrial plant dedicated to spacecraft manufacturing.[24]

Tourism

Seaside

The French Riviera, centred on Nice, attracts millions of international tourists every year.
Villefranche-sur-Mer between Nice and Monaco

The presence of the Mediterranean Sea and the French Alps under a mild sky has favoured one dominant activity: tourism, which accounts for 64,000 jobs directly in the Alpes-Maritimes. For only the city of Nice the tourism turnover represents a 12 to 13% share of the whole tourism market in France. The capital of the Côte d'Azur is the fifth most populous city in France. The city of Nice also has the second largest airport in France (Nice Côte d'Azur Airport), after Paris and its three airports at Roissy, Orly and Le Bourget. There are nearly 13.5 million passengers per year passing through Nice Airport.

The seaside where the majority of the population resides is one of the most popular parts of the world with many attractions:

The area inland from the busy French Riviera is an excellent base for many outdoor sports:

horse riding, Adventure parks, caving and the area has the first ever underground via ferrata. The area has internationally renowned paragliding and hang gliding flying sites at Col-de-Bleyne, Gourdon, Gréolières
and Lachens.

Mountainside

Mercantour National Park in the commune of Saint-Martin-Vésubie, which primarily covers a small town in the Alps and tourist destination

In the mountains, skiing and hiking bring life to Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée (Auron), Beuil, Péone (Valberg), Saint-Martin-Vésubie, Isola, Gréolières, Peïra-Cava, Col de Turini, and Turini-Camp d'argent in the Authion mountains.

Second homes

As of 2020, 25.3% of available housing in the department were second homes.[25]

Culture

Cultural life is rich and fully described in the daily regional Nice-Matin newspaper and announced in the weekly supplement JV Wednesday.

Events

Nice Carnival (2013)
La Fête du Citron (Lemon festival) in Menton
  • Pantiero Festival, Cannes (electronic and independent music) in August
  • International Dance Festival, Cannes, a dance festival held in late November and early December every second year
  • International Festival of Games, Cannes, in February
  • Festival of Night music at Le Suquet, Cannes, classical music in July
  • Fireworks Festival, Cannes, fireworks in July and August
  • Festival of Performances of actors, Cannes, June
  • Festival of dances "Break the Floor", Cannes, January
  • International Dance Festival, Cannes, November
  • Festival of Russian Art and Dance, Cannes, August
  • International Youth Ballets, organized by the Senior Dance School of École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower, Cannes, March
  • La Fête du Mimosa, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, February
  • Italian Market, Mougins, (formerly the Piedmontese Market before 2011)
  • International Gastronomic festival, Mougins
  • Jazz à Juan, Juan-les-Pins
  • Nice Jazz Festival
  • Nice Carnival
  • Naval Combat with flowers, Villefranche-sur-Mer
  • Lemon Festival, Menton
  • Southern Nights in Vence, world music
  • Festival Tomawok, Nice (rock, metal music), June
  • Book Festival of Mouans-Sartoux, three days in early October (21st Festival in 2008)
  • This Is Not Classic, an annual event[26] for classical music, created by the General Council of the Alpes-Maritimes[27] in 2005. It takes place at the Acropolis convention centre in Nice and occupies all available rooms beginning with the large auditorium seating 2,400 people.
  • Chestnut Festival

Museums

The Picasso museum in Antibes

Famous museums include:

Education

Primary and secondary education

The department has 222 nursery schools, 357 primary schools and one special school. It also hosts 72 colleges, 14 vocational schools and 22 high schools, to which must be added 65 private schools.

Higher education

The

University of Nice Sophia Antipolis
, in Nice and neighboring areas, was founded in 1965.

Higher education is relatively underdeveloped in the department. The urban area of Nice has 35,000 students,[28] while Rennes and Bordeaux each have 60,000.

A campus of the

Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) was established in Menton
in October 2005. The Menton campus is dedicated to the relationship between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean and the relationship of Europe with the Middle East.

Several engineering schools are also located in Sophia Antipolis:

In addition, two major business schools are located in the region:

There are is the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (INRIA) and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Sophia Antipolis.

Trivia

The

named in the department's honour
, on the occasion of the thousandth discovery made from its territory.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Populations légales 2019: 06 Alpes-Maritimes, INSEE
  4. ^ France Montagne: Alpes-Maritimes (in French).
  5. ^ Inventaire forestier départemental Alpes-Maritimes: IIIe inventaire 2002 [Forest Inventory for the department of Alpes-Maritimes: Third Inventory 2002] (PDF) (Report) (in French). Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries, Rural Affairs of France. 2004.
  6. ^ Paris, Nice, Strasbourg, Brest
  7. ^ Huault, Christian (16 April 2013). "L'intercommunalité en ordre de marche". Nice-Matin (in French).
  8. ^ "Métropole NCA | Accueil". www.nicecotedazur.org.
  9. ^
    Gallica
    24 July 2013 (in French)
  10. ISBN 9782914603102
    (in French)
  11. ^ "Charles-Ange Ginésy est le nouveau président du conseil départemental des Alpes-Maritimes". francetvinfo.fr. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  12. ^ Nationale, Assemblée. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale.
  13. ^ a b Budget 2011, Official site of the General Council of Alpes-Maritimes. Consulted on 1 July 2011. (in French)
  14. ^ a b c Alpes-Maritimes, Le Journal du Net. Consulted on 1 July 2011. (in French)
  15. ^ Register of Competitivity, 29 January 2009. (in French)
  16. ^ "Historique des Alpes-Maritimes". Le SPLAF.
  17. ^ "Évolution et structure de la population en 2016". INSEE.
  18. ^ a b Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2017, INSEE
  19. INSEE
    , 2012 (in French)
  20. ^ The Alpes-Maritimes, much like the rest of the PACA region, is markedly more religious than the rest of France
  21. ^
    Insee
    ) (in French)
  22. ^ Raw GDP (PIB) at current market prices NUTS 3, Eurostat. consulted on 5 August 2011. (in French)
  23. ^ 10 French Companies who are World Champions: Alcatel Alenia Space, Le Journal du Net (in French)
  24. ^ Christian Apothéloz, Alcatel space at Cannes, More than an entreprise, a legend, in The New Economist, March 2002
  25. INSEE
    (in French)
  26. ^ "C'est pas classique !" for music-lovers of Nice Archived 7 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine, France Musique website (in French)
  27. ^ Website of the Conseil général Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
  28. ^ Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur – A territory of international excellence Archived 24 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Official site of the Urban Community of Nice-Côte d'Azur. Consulted on 26 September 2008. (in French)

Bibliography

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Alpes-Maritimes.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alpes-Maritimes.
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