Millau

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Administration
Commune of Millau
Location
Longitude	03° 04' 42" E
Latitude	44° 05' 55" N
Country	France
Region	Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Aveyron (sous-préfecture)
Arrondissement	Millau
Canton	Chief town of 2 cantons
Mayor	Jacques Godfrain (2001-2008)
Statistics
Altitude	340 m–888 m (avg. 379 m)
Land area¹	168.23 km²
Population² (1999)	21,339
- Density (1999)	126.8/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	12145/ 12100
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Millau is a town and commune of southern France. It is located at where the Tarn and Dourbie rivers meet. Already in the first century AD there was a settlement on the spot, called Condatomagus, which was a major earthenware centre in the Roman Empire, La Graufesenque. The town is known for its gloves and most recently for the elegant Millau viaduct, the tallest cable-stayed road bridge in the world, which carries the A75 autoroute across the valley of the River Tarn near Millau, relieving the town of much traffic, especially during the summer months.

Millau's best-known inhabitant is Jose Bove, an anti-globalisation activist who demolished a McDonalds in symbolic protest of the spread of fast food and Americanization. There is a substantial population who support his aims if not his actions, both in Millau and on the surrounding Larzac plateau, where peace activists have lived since the 1970s.

[edit] Administration

Millau is a sous-préfecture of the Aveyron département, in the Midi-Pyrénées région.

[edit] Tourism

The glove museum
Micropolis; the city of insects
Millau is also the main centre in France for paragliding
The nearby underground caves for Roquefort cheese production
The Place du Maréchal Foch, a square with 12th century arcades, one of which carries the inscription Gara qué faras or Watch what you are doing
Église Notre-Dame-de-l'Espinasse. This church allegedly once possessed a part of the Crown of Thorns, making it an important pilgrimage centre in the Middle Ages. The church was destroyed in 1582 but rebuild in the 17th century. The frescoes from 1939 are by Jean Bernard, the stained-glass windows from 1984 by Claude Baillon.
The Passage du Pozous is a 13th century fortified gateway
The Belfry, a 12th century square tower topped by an octagonal 17th century tower on the place Emma Calvé