Carqueiranne (French: [kaʁkeʁan], locally [kaʁkɛˈʁanə]; Occitan: Carcairana [kaɾkajˈɾanɔ] or Carqueirana [kaɾkejˈɾanɔ]) is a commune in the Var department, administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (historically Provence), Southeastern France.

It is known now as a tourist seaside resort with good windsurfing nearby, at Almanarre Beach.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 4,449—    
1975 5,131+2.06%
1982 6,199+2.74%
1990 7,118+1.74%
1999 8,436+1.91%
2007 9,630+1.67%
2012 9,899+0.55%
2017 9,700−0.41%
Source: INSEE[3]

Saint-Exupéry

The town has a literary claim to fame as well. In early August 1944, an unidentifiable body wearing French military colours was found near here, which was long believed[by whom?] to be that of famous novelist Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince.

In 1998, a bracelet known to be his, with a fragment of cloth still attached, was found in the sea east of Riou Island (south of Marseille). In 2000, a crashed P-38 Lightning was found in the seabed off the coast of Marseille, near where the bracelet was found, and it was confirmed to be the one that Saint-Exupéry was flying.

However, it remains plausible that ocean currents could have carried the body from the crash site to Carqueiranne - a distance less than 80 kilometres (50 mi) by sea - over the course of several days, which is the time difference between the crash on 31 July 1944, and the discovery of the body.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Populations de référence 2022" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.
  3. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE


No tags for this post.