Les Adjots (French pronunciation: [le.z‿adʒo]) is a commune in the Charente department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France.

Les Adjots
Town hall
Town hall
Location of Les Adjots
Map
Les Adjots is located in France
Les Adjots
Les Adjots
Les Adjots is located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Les Adjots
Les Adjots
Coordinates: 46°04′39″N 0°12′26″E / 46.0775°N 0.2072°E / 46.0775; 0.2072
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
DepartmentCharente
ArrondissementConfolens
CantonCharente-Nord
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Alain Dunoyer[1]
Area
1
10.94 km2 (4.22 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
529
 • Density48/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
16002 /16700
Elevation120–168 m (394–551 ft)
(avg. 130 m or 430 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

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Location and access

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Les Adjots is a commune located in the north of the department of Charente. It borders both neighbouring departments of Deux-Sèvres (northwest) and Vienne (north-east). It is located some 65 km south of Poitiers and 60 km north of Angoulême.

Traversed by the N10 west of the village running from north to south and by the parallel railway line along the eastern border of the commune, Les Adjots was on the road from Paris to Bordeaux as shown on plate 28 in the Atlas of Trudaine.[3]

The departmental roads D911 passes through the commune close to the N10 from the north and continues south to Ruffec. The D176 also runs from the village south-east to Taize-Aizie and the D305 runs west to La Paiziere.

The railway line Paris-Austerlitz to Bordeaux Saint-Jean passes through the eastern boundary of the commune. Ruffec is the nearest station.

Hamlets and localities

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Northwest of the town of Adjots, Chez Branger is the largest hamlet in the commune. It is located on the former N10. North of the town there are Chez Chagnaud and Chez Machet and to the south La Cour, Les Robins, and Les Loges. In the south-west the hamlet of La Batarderie is separated from the rest of the commune by the N10.[4]

Neighbouring communes and villages[5]

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Geology and terrain

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Geologically, the commune is located on Jurassic limestone of the Aquitaine Basin as is all of North-Charente. The Bathonian age appears on a small area east of the town, but the plateau is covered by alterite in the form of red flinty clay and locally by Oolite of iron south of the town.[6][7][8]

The relief of the commune is that of a plateau with an average altitude of 140m. The highest point of the commune is at an altitude of 168m located on the north-western boundary. The lowest point is 120m located on the south-eastern boundary (Bois de Vallons). Due to the nature of the karst soil there are also some depressions and sinkholes. The village is 127m above sea level.[4]

Hydrography

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The town is located in the basin of the Charente but it has no watercourses or lakes.[4]

Climate

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As in three-quarters south and west of the department, the climate is oceanic Aquitaine, slightly degraded in the north of the department near the Seuil du Poitou.

Vegetation

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The territory is composed of 69% of agricultural land, 27% forests and semi-natural areas, and 4% of artificial areas.[9]

Toponymy

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Attested in the Latinized form De Adjotis meaning "The gorse" in 1280[10]

The current spelling is explained by the medieval romanization of the old French word ajou (13th century) ajonc which actually dates back to the pre-Latin *ajaugone giving *ajon ( of where ajonc. It is spelt with a final C by analogy with jonc, from the Latin juncus) giving ajou.

There are at least two dialects in the region ajaillon and jogue (feminine form from *ajauga) more to the south.

Administration

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Created in 1793, Les Adjots passed from the arrondissement of Angoulême to the arrondissement of Confolens on 1 January 2008.

List of Successive Mayors of Les Adjots[11]

From To Name Party Position
1995 2008 Josette Pacton
2008 2020 Francis Grimaud SE Retired on Social Security
2020 2026 Alain Dunoyer

Demography

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The inhabitants of the commune are known as Adjotois or Adjotoises in French.[12] After losing 45% of its population from 1851 to 1921 Les Adjots stabilized its population between 390 and 530 inhabitants.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 661—    
1800 683+0.47%
1806 646−0.92%
1821 749+0.99%
1831 896+1.81%
1841 821−0.87%
1846 864+1.03%
1851 942+1.74%
1856 879−1.37%
1861 810−1.62%
1866 781−0.73%
1872 744−0.81%
1876 727−0.58%
1881 690−1.04%
1886 690+0.00%
1891 695+0.14%
1896 601−2.86%
1901 593−0.27%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1906 580−0.44%
1911 562−0.63%
1921 520−0.77%
1926 512−0.31%
1931 502−0.39%
1936 494−0.32%
1946 469−0.52%
1954 512+1.10%
1962 513+0.02%
1968 488−0.83%
1975 515+0.77%
1982 453−1.82%
1990 448−0.14%
1999 390−1.53%
2007 451+1.83%
2012 526+3.12%
2017 525−0.04%
Source: EHESS[13] and INSEE[14]

Distribution of Age Groups

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Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Les Adjots and Charente Department in 2017

Les Adjots Charente
Age Range Men Women Men Women
0 to 14 Years 20.3 21.7 16.7 14.8
15 to 29 Years 16.5 14.3 15.7 13.8
30 to 44 Years 19.0 20.2 17.1 16.3
45 to 59 Years 16.6 19.6 21.1 20.8
60 to 74 Years 18.9 17.7 19.6 19.8
75 to 89 Years 8.0 5.6 8.9 12.0
90 Years+ 0.7 0.8 0.9 2.4

Source: INSEE[14][15]

Economy

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Les Adjots is an agricultural commune with a few artisans, backhoe services, masons, and a painter.

In the village there is a grocery store.

Facilities

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Education

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The school is an inter-communal teaching group between Les Adjots and Taizé-Aizie with each hosting an elementary school.[16]

Medico-social

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The IME Marc Signac is at La Tour.

Other services

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Other services are found in Ruffec 8.5 km south.

Life in Adjots

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Sport

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The football club is a union between Taizé-Aizie and Les Adjots.

Communal and Employers Festival

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The communal festival is at Easter and the employers festival on the first Sunday after 14 July.

Sites and Monuments

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The Church of Adjots
  • The Church, a parish of the former diocese of Poitiers, dates from the 12th and 13th centuries and was restored in the 19th century.
  • The Pavillon Tower dates from the 17th century.

Notable People linked to the commune

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  • Auguste Merle (1855-1940), mayor of Saint-Junien, President of the Chamber of Notaries.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Route de Paris à Bordeaux, planche 28. Memories database, Ministry of Culture
  4. ^ a b c IGN map on Géoportail (in French)
  5. ^ Google Maps
  6. ^ BRGM map on Géoportail
  7. ^ Infoterre Visualiser, BRGM website
  8. ^ Notice on Ruffec, BRGM, 1973, Infoterre, consulted on 7 January 2012 (in French)
  9. ^ Source : EU – SOeS, CORINE Land Cover, 2006
  10. ^ Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing, Etymylogical Dictionary of placenames in France, Librairie Guénégaud 1979. p. 3. (in French)
  11. ^ List of Mayors of France (in French)
  12. ^ Le nom des habitants du 16 - Charente, habitants.fr
  13. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Les Adjots, EHESS (in French).
  14. ^ a b Évolution et structure de la population en 2017: Commune des Adjots (16002)
  15. ^ Évolution et structure de la population en 2017: Département de la Charente (16)
  16. ^ Academic Inspection Directorate website (in French)
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