Blieux

Blieux
A ravine in the territory of the Blieux commune A ravine in the territory of the Blieux commune
Coat of arms of Blieux Coat of arms
Blieux
Location within Provence-A.-C.d'A. region Blieux
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Arrondissement	Digne-les-Bains
Canton	Barrême
Intercommunality	Moyen Verdon
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Marcel Collomp
Area1	56.8 km2 (21.9 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	57
• Density	1.0/km2 (2.6/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	04030 / 04330
Elevation	831–1,921 m (2,726–6,302 ft) (avg. 950 m or 3,120 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.

Blieux is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.

History

The commune of Blieux first appeared on maps in 1100.

Much later, during the French Revolution, records show that the residents of Blieux had created a political club (patriotic society), which was very common at the time. (See Jacobin Club).

Name of the commune

According to Ernest Nègre, the first recorded name for the commune, Bleus, was derived from the Occitan word bleusse, meaning 'dry'. This was likely a reference to the local soil. By contrast, Charles Rostaing argues that the name derives from the pre-Indo-European root word, *BL, meaning 'mountain in the form of a spur'.

La Melle, the name of a nearby hamlet, comes from the Celtic word, mello, meaning an elevated location.

Economy

Historically, Blieux was a pastoral community, with a yearly alpine grazing cyle known as transhumance. As with much of Provence, tourism the primary source of economic activity today.

Geography

The village is located at an altitude of 950m, in the vally formed by a tributary of the river Asse, known as the 'Asse de Blieux'.

Hamlets

• le Bas-Chadoul
• la Melle
• la Tuilière
• Thon
• La Castelle

Summits and passes

• Mont Chiran (1905 m)
• le Grand Mourre (1898 m)
• Crête de Montmuye (Montmuye ridge) (Highest point: 1621 m)
• Le Mourre de Chanier ( 1930 m)

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1765	823	—
1793	913	+10.9%
1800	801	−12.3%
1806	818	+2.1%
1821	810	−1.0%
1831	907	+12.0%
1836	969	+6.8%
1841	876	−9.6%
1846	802	−8.4%
1851	780	−2.7%
1856	735	−5.8%
1861	736	+0.1%
1866	650	−11.7%
1872	598	−8.0%
1876	573	−4.2%
1881	560	−2.3%
1886	537	−4.1%
1891	508	−5.4%
1896	449	−11.6%
1901	442	−1.6%
1906	403	−8.8%
1911	374	−7.2%
1921	241	−35.6%
1926	200	−17.0%
1931	181	−9.5%
1936	160	−11.6%
1946	110	−31.2%
1954	100	−9.1%
1962	73	−27.0%
1968	59	−19.2%
1975	54	−8.5%
1982	59	+9.3%
1990	57	−3.4%
1999	59	+3.5%
2008	57	−3.4%

With the exception of those that have been totally abandoned, Blieux is one of the communities in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department that has experienced the greatest population decline from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries.

Inhabitants are known as Blieuxois.

See also

• Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

References

• INSEE