Argences | |
|---|---|
 General view of Argences | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Argences | |
  Argences  Argences | |
| Coordinates:49°07′37″N0°09′59″W / 49.1269°N 0.1664°W /49.1269; -0.1664 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Normandy |
| Department | Calvados |
| Arrondissement | Caen |
| Canton | Troarn |
| Intercommunality | CC Val ès Dunes |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2023–2026) | Marie-Françoise Isabel[1] |
Area 1 | 9.76 km2 (3.77 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 3,940 |
| • Density | 404/km2 (1,050/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 14020 /14370 |
| Elevation | 2–74 m (6.6–242.8 ft) (avg. 44 m or 144 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Argences (French pronunciation:[aʁʒɑ̃s]ⓘ) is acommune in theCalvadosdepartment in theNormandyregion of north-westernFrance. It is in the urban area ofCaen, 15 kilometres from the city.
The commune has been awardedone flower by theNational Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in theCompetition of cities and villages in Bloom.[3]
Argences is some 15 km south-east ofCaen and 1 km north ofMoult. Access to the commune is by the D37 road fromSaint-Pair in the north passing through the commune and the town and continuing to Moult in the south. The D41 road goes east from the town to join the D613 to Caen atVimont. The D80 road also goes north-east from the town toSaint-Pierre-du-Jonquet. Apart from the town there are also the hamlets of Le Fresne to the north, Le Mesnil in the north-east, and Le Croix de Moult south of the town. The commune consists of a large residential area in the town with a large forest in the north-east (the Bois de Saint-Gilles) with small scattered forests but mostly farmland.[4]
TheMuane river flows through the town and the commune from south to north.
Neighbouring communes and villages | |
|---|---|
In 989,Richard I of Normandy donated land to the Abbey ofFécamp for thecurates ofMondeville and Argences. From that date, the domain of Mondeville was managed as an ecclesiastical fief by the Barony of Argences. During the ducal era the wines of Argences were highly regarded.[5]
In 1912, the large tile factory at Fresne built a railway line 4 km long connecting Argences to Moult-Argences Station in Moult on theParis-Cherbourg line. The line from Argences was closed in 1931 and the nearest station is now Moult-Argences (TER Basse-Normandie).
On 16 April 1942, a group ofresistance fighters derailed aMaastricht-Cherbourg train two kilometres from Moult-Argences station inAiran commune causing 28 dead and 19 wounded - all German soldiers. On 30 April of that year, in revenge for German retaliation, a new derailment of the same train killed 10 German soldiers and wounded 22 others.[6]
| Blazon: Gules, 3 laurel branches Vert, 1 pale in chief, 2 stems in base saltirewise between 3 mitres of Or the fanons of the one in base debruised by the laurel leaves. |
List of Mayors[7]
| From | To | Name | Party | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1790 | 1791 | Pierre Michel Gouget | ||
| 1791 | 1792 | André Pierre Duval-Destin | ||
| 1792 | 1794 | Robert Lesage | ||
| 1794 | 1795 | Nicolas Guillaume Moulin | ||
| 1795 | 1796 | Pierre Robert Caillouie | ||
| 1796 | 1797 | Joseph Bornet | ||
| 1797 | 1798 | Jean Mathieu Duport | ||
| 1798 | 1799 | Joseph Bornet | ||
| 1799 | 1799 | Nicolas Guillaume Moulin | ||
| 1799 | 1800 | André Halbique | ||
| 1800 | 1806 | Pierre Duval-Destin | ||
| 1806 | 1808 | Pierre Robert Cailloue | ||
| 1808 | 1812 | François Huillard | ||
| 1812 | 1815 | Ferdinand Desessarts | ||
| 1815 | 1826 | Nicolas Moulin | ||
| 1826 | 1828 | Jean Baptiste Honore | ||
| 1828 | 1830 | Jean Duport | ||
| 1830 | 1840 | Modeste Ancelle | ||
| 1840 | 1841 | Germain Lecharpertier | ||
| 1841 | 1843 | Jean Doublet | ||
| 1843 | 1859 | Modeste Ancelle | ||
| 1859 | 1871 | Armand Laville | ||
| 1871 | 1874 | Germain Lecharpertier | ||
| 1874 | 1874 | Armand Laville | ||
| 1874 | 1896 | Dominique Lecomte | ||
| 1896 | 1908 | Joseph Dalgot | ||
| 1908 | 1912 | Désiré Lepetit | ||
| 1912 | 1921 | André Gourmez | ||
| 1921 | 1929 | Clément Michel |
| From | To | Name | Party | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 1945 | Jean Hamel | ||
| 1945 | 1947 | Albert Frilley | ||
| 1947 | 1953 | Jean Hamel | ||
| 1953 | 1954 | René Maginier | ||
| 1954 | 1965 | André Plantain | ||
| 1965 | 1970 | Michel Jourdan | ||
| 1970 | 1971 | Georges Lemesle | ||
| 1971 | 1979 | Alfred Rouillard | ||
| 1979 | 1989 | Gilbert Deru | ||
| 1989 | 1995 | Jean-François Hamel | ||
| 1995 | 2001 | Gilbert Deru | ||
| 2001 | 2008 | Bernard Dufour | Retired ETF officer | |
| 2008 | 2023 | Dominique Delivet | LREM | Headmaster |
| 2023 | 2026 | Marie-Françoise Isabel |
The inhabitants of the commune are known asArgençais orArgençaises in French.[8]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 1,802 | — |
| 1975 | 2,215 | +2.99% |
| 1982 | 3,000 | +4.43% |
| 1990 | 3,048 | +0.20% |
| 1999 | 3,241 | +0.68% |
| 2007 | 3,495 | +0.95% |
| 2012 | 3,596 | +0.57% |
| 2017 | 3,718 | +0.67% |
| Source: INSEE[9] | ||
The newspaperL'Echo de la Muance was published in Argences from 1896 to 1897.[10]
is registered as aMonument historique.[11]
The association of rural families organizes dance classes for children and adults (beginners, modern dance, Fit'n dance).
