Mont-de-Marsan (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃ maʁsɑ̃]; Occitan: Lo Mont de Marçan[3]) is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.[4]

Mont-de-Marsan
Confluence of the Douze and Midou rivers
Confluence of the Douze and Midou rivers
Coat of arms of Mont-de-Marsan
Location of Mont-de-Marsan
Map
Mont-de-Marsan is located in France
Mont-de-Marsan
Mont-de-Marsan
Mont-de-Marsan is located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Mont-de-Marsan
Mont-de-Marsan
Coordinates: 43°53′N 0°30′W / 43.89°N 0.50°W / 43.89; -0.50
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
DepartmentLandes
ArrondissementMont-de-Marsan
CantonMont-de-Marsan-1 and 2
IntercommunalityMont-de-Marsan Agglomération
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Charles Dayot[1]
Area
1
36.88 km2 (14.24 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
30,674
 • Density830/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
40192 /40000
Elevation23–97 m (75–318 ft)
(avg. 63 m or 207 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 4,000—    
1800 2,866−4.65%
1806 5,256+10.64%
1821 3,065−3.53%
1831 3,774+2.10%
1836 4,082+1.58%
1841 4,465+1.81%
1846 4,684+0.96%
1851 4,655−0.12%
1856 5,210+2.28%
1861 5,574+1.36%
1866 8,455+8.69%
1872 8,138−0.63%
1876 9,310+3.42%
1881 10,878+3.16%
1886 11,760+1.57%
1891 12,031+0.46%
1896 11,274−1.29%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 11,604+0.58%
1906 11,923+0.54%
1911 12,091+0.28%
1921 10,836−1.09%
1926 12,134+2.29%
1931 11,854−0.47%
1936 13,009+1.88%
1946 14,055+0.78%
1954 17,120+2.50%
1962 20,191+2.08%
1968 24,444+3.24%
1975 26,166+0.98%
1982 27,326+0.62%
1990 28,328+0.45%
1999 29,489+0.45%
2007 30,212+0.30%
2012 31,018+0.53%
2017 29,554−0.96%
Source: EHESS[5] and INSEE (1968-2017)[6]

Military installations

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The French Air and Space Force operates the Constantin Rozanoff Mont-de-Marsan Air Base about 2 kilometres north of the town. The base includes CEAM (the French air force military experimentation and trials organisation), an air defense radar command reporting centre and an air defence control training site. Mont-de-Marsan Air Base was formerly home to France's first operational squadron of nuclear bombers, the Dassault Mirage IVA.

Sights

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  • The Donjon Lacataye is the keep of a 14th-century castle
  • Despiau-Wlérick Museum (1930s sculpture by two local artists)
  • Dubalen Museum
  • Maréchal Foch's equestrian statue

Culture

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Town Hall

Stade Montois Club Omnisports is the city's main sports club: Stade Montois rugby and Stade Montois football are especially well-known. The city has around 9,000 sports licensees, which represents nearly 30% of its total population.

Two historic punk rock music festivals were held in Mont-de-Marsan's bullring in 1976 and 1977.

The Festival Arte Flamenco international festival was established 1989 in Mont-de-Marsan by the council of the Landes department and is the largest Flamenco festival outside of Spain.

Economy

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Overall, three sectors dominate the economic activity of Mont-de-Marsan:

  • The agri-food sector: centered around poultry (duck, chicken, foie gras), and primarily corn, with major companies based here (Delpeyrat, Maïsadour…);
  • The forestry sector: several companies contribute to the activities of the Industries and Future Maritime Pine competitiveness cluster;
  • The Military Aeronautical Experimentation Center: the Mont-de-Marsan Air Base (BA 118) is one of the main operational bases for the French Air Force.

Personalities

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International relations

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Mont-de-Marsan is twinned with:

Climate

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Climate data for Mont-de-Marsan (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1945–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 23.4
(74.1)
26.7
(80.1)
30.1
(86.2)
32.1
(89.8)
35.3
(95.5)
41.0
(105.8)
41.2
(106.2)
42.5
(108.5)
39.2
(102.6)
33.8
(92.8)
26.7
(80.1)
23.9
(75.0)
42.5
(108.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 10.9
(51.6)
12.7
(54.9)
16.4
(61.5)
18.7
(65.7)
22.3
(72.1)
25.5
(77.9)
27.8
(82.0)
28.2
(82.8)
25.0
(77.0)
20.4
(68.7)
14.4
(57.9)
11.4
(52.5)
19.5
(67.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) 6.5
(43.7)
7.2
(45.0)
10.3
(50.5)
12.7
(54.9)
16.3
(61.3)
19.6
(67.3)
21.6
(70.9)
21.8
(71.2)
18.5
(65.3)
14.8
(58.6)
9.7
(49.5)
7.0
(44.6)
13.8
(56.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 2.1
(35.8)
1.8
(35.2)
4.2
(39.6)
6.7
(44.1)
10.4
(50.7)
13.7
(56.7)
15.5
(59.9)
15.4
(59.7)
11.9
(53.4)
9.2
(48.6)
5.1
(41.2)
2.6
(36.7)
8.2
(46.8)
Record low °C (°F) −19.8
(−3.6)
−16.8
(1.8)
−11.5
(11.3)
−5.4
(22.3)
−2.5
(27.5)
1.8
(35.2)
2.0
(35.6)
4.1
(39.4)
−0.5
(31.1)
−6.2
(20.8)
−10.4
(13.3)
−14.5
(5.9)
−19.8
(−3.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 82.2
(3.24)
61.8
(2.43)
68.6
(2.70)
87.7
(3.45)
79.1
(3.11)
73.0
(2.87)
55.4
(2.18)
59.7
(2.35)
72.6
(2.86)
85.4
(3.36)
105.1
(4.14)
87.5
(3.44)
918.1
(36.15)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 11.4 9.6 10.2 11.8 10.9 9.1 6.9 7.3 8.8 9.8 11.9 11.0 118.7
Average snowy days 1.2 1.2 0.5 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.9 4.3
Average relative humidity (%) 88 84 77 76 75 75 73 76 78 85 88 89 80.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours 88.8 113.9 165.4 174.1 195.9 213.7 232.9 226.3 199.2 149.5 97.3 85.2 1,942
Source 1: Meteociel[7]
Source 2: Infoclimat.fr (humidity and snowy days, 1961–1990)[8]

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. ^ Toponimia Occitana (in Occitan)
  4. ^ INSEE commune file
  5. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Mont-de-Marsan, EHESS (in French).
  6. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  7. ^ "Normales et records pour Mont-de-Marsan (40)". Meteociel. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Normes et records 1961-1990: Mont-de-Marsan (40) - altitude 59m" (in French). Infoclimat. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
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