Padoux | |
|---|---|
 The town hall and boys' school in Padoux | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Padoux  | |
  Padoux  Padoux | |
| Coordinates:48°16′51″N6°34′14″E / 48.2808°N 6.5706°E /48.2808; 6.5706 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Department | Vosges |
| Arrondissement | Épinal |
| Canton | Bruyères |
| Intercommunality | Épinal |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Bruno Huguenin[1] |
Area 1 | 19.35 km2 (7.47 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 492 |
| • Density | 25/km2 (66/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 88340 /88700 |
| Elevation | 296–366 m (971–1,201 ft) (avg. 330 m or 1,080 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Padoux (French pronunciation:[padu]ⓘ) is acommune in theVosgesdepartment inGrand Est in northeasternFrance.
Inhabitants are calledPadoselliens.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 383 | — |
| 1975 | 376 | −0.26% |
| 1982 | 397 | +0.78% |
| 1990 | 429 | +0.97% |
| 1999 | 435 | +0.15% |
| 2007 | 460 | +0.70% |
| 2012 | 521 | +2.52% |
| 2017 | 514 | −0.27% |
| Source: INSEE[3] | ||
Padoux is positioned betweenÉpinal etRambervillers: nevertheless, it is administratively within the canton ofBruyères, some 20 kilometres (12 mi)across country to the south-east. Directly the west, and set in the Forest of Padoux, is the little village ofBadménil-aux-Bois.
The watershed/drainage divide between theriver basins of theMeurthe and of theMoselle runs through the commune. Two much smaller rivers that cross it are theMortagne and thePadozel. The landscape and its customs are at a point of transition betweenmountain country to the east and the gently rolling landscape Lorriane Plain to the west. The soil type reflects a mixture of underlyinglimestone andclay, with very littleSilicon dioxide. The result is a soil known locally as white earth (terres blanches) and ashen earth (terres rousses): the latter are particularly suitable for growingcereals in general and especially forwheat.
In 1594 and again in 1710 Padoux is recorded as subject to the bailiwick of Épinal: in 1751 it transferred to that ofChâtel. In 1790, as part of the administrative reform that followed theFrench Revolution, Padoux found itself included in the canton ofRambervillers. The present administrative map of France dates from 1800.
On 21 June 1940Jean-Paul Sartre was arrested at Padoux by the Germans.[4] At the time he was serving with the French military as ameteorologist.
Former mayor Alphonse Vauthier relaunched during the second half of the twentieth century an Easter Monday livestock fair which each year continues to attract crowds of traders and of onlookers.
