Balacet

Balacet (French pronunciation: [balasɛ]) is a commune in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region of south-western France.

Balacet
Commune
Location of Balacet
Balacet Balacet
Coordinates: 42°53′06″N 0°58′56″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Ariège
Arrondissement	Saint-Girons
Canton	Couserans Ouest
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Anselme Poignant
Area 1	2.12 km2 (0.82 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	44
• Density	21/km2 (54/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	09034 /09800
Elevation	833–1,674 m (2,733–5,492 ft) (avg. 906 m or 2,972 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Balacet is located some 8 km south-west of Audressein and 3 km north-east of Sentein in the Biros Valley. Access to the commune is by the tortuous D704 road which branches from the D4 just west of Lascoux and goes to the village then continues east to Uchentein. There is also another road that goes west from the village to Irazein. The commune is a rugged mountain commune which is heavily forested.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

From	To	Name
2001	2008	Gilbert Birbes
2008	2014	André Marran
2014	2020	Antoine Duburcq
2020	2026	Anselme Poignant

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Balacetois or Balacetoises in French.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 83 —     1800 86 +0.51% 1806 107 +3.71% 1821 126 +1.10% 1831 125 −0.08% 1836 102 −3.99% 1841 104 +0.39% 1846 108 +0.76% 1851 114 +1.09% 1856 117 +0.52% 1861 121 +0.67% 1866 112 −1.53% 1872 116 +0.59% 1876 108 −1.77% 1881 109 +0.18% 1886 81 −5.77% 1891 82 +0.25% 1896 90 +1.88%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 107 +3.52% 1906 103 −0.76% 1911 90 −2.66% 1921 71 −2.34% 1926 65 −1.75% 1931 64 −0.31% 1936 47 −5.99% 1946 29 −4.71% 1954 25 −1.84% 1962 30 +2.31% 1968 29 −0.56% 1975 26 −1.55% 1982 14 −8.46% 1990 10 −4.12% 1999 24 +10.22% 2007 19 −2.88% 2012 17 −2.20% 2017 26 +8.87%
Source: EHESS and INSEE

Religious heritage

The Parish Church contains several items that are registered as historical objects:

• A Pyx of "malades-chrismatoire" (13th century)
• A Ciborium (19th century)
• 2 Candlesticks (18th century)
• An Altar, Retable, and Tabernacle (18th century)
• A Chalice (17th century)
• A Carving: Chrisme (12th century)

See also

• Communes of the Ariège department

External links

• Balacet on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
• Balacet on the 1750 Cassini Map