Agris | |
|---|---|
 Town Hall | |
 Location of Agris | |
  Agris  Agris | |
| Coordinates:45°46′32″N0°20′09″E / 45.7755°N 0.3358°E /45.7755; 0.3358 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Department | Charente |
| Arrondissement | Angoulême |
| Canton | Val de Tardoire |
| Intercommunality | La Rochefoucauld-Porte du Périgord |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Patrick Piveteau[1] |
Area 1 | 18.74 km2 (7.24 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | 891 |
| • Density | 47.5/km2 (123/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 16003 /16110 |
| Elevation | 70–134 m (230–440 ft) (avg. 83 m or 272 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Agris (French pronunciation:[aɡʁi];Occitan:Agrís) is acommune in theCharentedepartment in theNouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwesternFrance.
The inhabitants of the commune are known asAgritois orAgritoises, alternativelyAgritauds orAgritaudes[3]
Agris is located 19 km north-east ofAngoulême and 5 km north-west ofLa Rochefoucauld by the D390 road which passes through the village or the D6 which passes through Pont-d'Agris.
The town is also traversed by the D11 fromVars toChasseneuil-sur-Bonnieure and the D12 toAngoulême as well as by minor departmental roads: the D175 from Pont-d'Agris toSaint-Claud by the Bois de Bel-Air, the D40 to the nearby commune ofLa Rochette, and the D88 (calledthe Road of the Duchess) fromLa Rochefoucauld toJauldes andTourriers.[4]
Agris is also 10 km south-west ofChasseneuil-sur-Bonnieure and 16 km south-east ofMansle.
The nearest railway station is atLa Rochefoucauld which is served by theTER betweenAngoulême andLimoges.Angoulême Airport is 10 km south-west of the commune.
The commune has many hamlets to the north-west of the village in the Tardoire valley. The main ones arePont-d'Agris, located on the right bank and at the crossroads of the D6 and D11 andLa Grange located on the left bank and on the D11 up to the heights of the village. On the right bank there is also theLes Camus,les Fougères,la Côte,la Brousse,les Garrauds, and on the left bankle Monac,chez Goby,les Martonnauds,les Chevilloux, which are almost part of the village. There are alsoles Vieilles Vaures in the south andles Treize Vents in the north[4]
There are also many farms. The part of the forest west of the village is uninhabited.
Places adjacent to Agris | |
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The soil consists oflimestone dating from the middle and upperJurassic period (Callovian toKimmeridgian from east to west). The plateau east of the Tardoire Valley is covered with alterite andflintyclay from theMassif Central close by (10 km east) and deposited during theTertiary period. The valley is covered withalluvium and along the edges with sand and gravel terraces dating from theQuaternary period.[6][7][8]
In the Braconne Forest there are excavations ofFosse Limousine,Fosse Mobile andFosse Rode,[Note 1] which opens up in the form of a winding gallery in the upper reef. These collapses, sinkholes, galleries, and concretions form a caving site which is part of the La Rochefoucauldkarst.[9]
The relief of the commune is that of a low plateau sloping gently towards the valley of the Tardoire, with an average altitude of 110 m. The highest point is at an altitude of 134 m to the south-west in the Braconne forest near Gros Fayant. The lowest point is 70 m located on the Tardoire opposite the town ofLa Rochette. The village is 80 m above sea level.[4]
The commune is traversed by theTardoire andBandiat Valleys.
Bandiat Valley is almost always dry in summer because its waters are absorbed by the successivesinkholes of the La Rochefoucauldkarst so never reach the Tardoire Valley. The base of the Valley is nothing more than a ditch along a path between theVieilles Vaures and the village. In winter the water still reaches the Vieilles Vaures but quickly sinks underground.
Tardoire Valley is also often dry in summer for the same reasons.
As in three-quarters of the department in the south and west, the climate isoceanic Aquitaine.
The commune is in the Limousin region and marks the boundary with theSaintongeais local dialect (to the West).[10]
There are two hypotheses for the origin of the name Agris:
In the Middle Ages, Agris was calledAgresio.[11]
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The remains of eight people have been exhumed (five adults and three children) who were hunter-gatherers from theMesolithic period around 7000 BC.[12]
Aerial photos reveal traces of ancient occupation in an undetermined era.
It is certain that the occupation of the site was very ancient as evidenced by the discovery of theAgris Helmet, a ceremonialCeltic helmet dated from the 4th century BC. which was found in 1981 during archaeological excavations in Perrats Cave. This site's primary occupation dated to theMesolithic period in 7000 BC. and was reused from theNeolithic period in theBronze Age to thesecond Iron Age in theRoman period and also during theMiddle Ages.[13]
In the same site in the Perrats Cave pottery of thesecond Iron Age was found.[14]
Agris was created in 1793 as part of the canton of Jandes[Note 2] and the district of La Rochefoucauld but in 1801 changed to the Canton ofLa Rochefoucauld in theArrondissement of Angoulême.[15]
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List of Successive Mayors of Agris[16]
| From | To | Name | Party | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 2008 | Jacky Brandy | ||
| 2008 | 2020 | Christian Vimpère | ind. | Farmer |
| 2020 | 2026 | Patrick Piveteau |
Historical population | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: EHESS[15] and INSEE[17] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Agris had its peak population in 1851 then lost 43% of its population from 1851 to 1921. Since then the population has stabilized around 700-800 people.
Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Agris and Charente Department in 2017
| Agris | Charente | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age Range | Men | Women | Men | Women |
| 0 to 14 Years | 14.2 | 20.1 | 16.7 | 14.8 |
| 15 to 29 Years | 18.1 | 14.1 | 15.7 | 13.8 |
| 30 to 44 Years | 20.2 | 19.6 | 17.1 | 16.3 |
| 45 to 59 Years | 20.9 | 18.4 | 21.1 | 20.8 |
| 60 to 74 Years | 19.7 | 17.9 | 19.6 | 19.8 |
| 75 to 89 Years | 6.2 | 8.4 | 8.9 | 12.0 |
| 90 Years+ | 0.7 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 2.4 |
During the 19th century three stone quarries were operating in the commune:Chez les Foucauds inLa Moussière andChez les Fouilloux.[9]
Two grocery stores, a tobacco shop, a restaurant, a bakery and a hairdresser.[19]
A large number of tradesmen and entrepreneurs are present in the commune: electrician, motor garage, carpenter, mason, painter, plasterer-tiler, plumber, and agricultural workers.[19]
There are three rural cottages, with two open all year.[19]
Agris has a post office.[19]
The school is an intercommunal teaching group between Agris andLa Rochette. Agris has the Primary School and La Rochette only the elementary school.[20] The Agris school is located in the village.
The US football club of Agris plays in the Marc Labrousse Stadium.
There is also an association for playingtennis andpétanque, anequestrian centre located inChez Pelet, a quad bike club, a motor-cycle club, a hunting society, a club for seniors, and an association of parents.
The commune has a leisure centre and a library.[19]
There is also an autocross circuit that hosted the championship of France several times[when?] but it has been closed since 2010.[21]
There are two general practitioners and one home help service.[19]
The commune has two sites that are registered as historical monuments:
[24] is a wayside cross located at the intersection of the local road from Granges to Le Bourg and the local road from Granges to Le Chevilloux.[25] It depended on the priory of Saint-Florent de La Rochefoucauld. The church contains three items that are registered as historical objects:
[26][27][28]
TheBraconne Forest, theTardoire Valley, and theBandiat Valley are of great interest for flora and fauna. They are aNatura 2000 zone.
Legend of the mobile pit: a man who killed his father and wanting to hide his corpse wandered all night to find this pit which concealed itself and moved constantly to avoid being complicit in thepatricide. Exhausted, the man surrendered to police of La Rochefoucauld in the morning.[29]
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