Cournonterral

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Coordinates: 43°33′32″N 3°43′12″E / 43.5588888889, 3.72

Commune of Cournonterral Tower and Sainte-Croix church in Cournonterral
Location
Administration
Country	France
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon
Department	Hérault
Arrondissement	Montpellier
Canton	Pignan
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération Montpellier Agglomération
Mayor	M. Thierry Breysse (2001-2008)
Statistics
Elevation	29 m–320 m (avg. m)
Land area¹	28.62 km²
Population² (1999)	5,069
- Density	177/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	34088/ 34660
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.

Cournonterral is a French town and commune located in the department of Herault in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon. Inhabitants are known as Cournonterralais.

[edit] Festival

The town is famous for an annual festival known as Pailhasses. The festival has taken place in Cournonterral every Ash Wednesday since 1346. In that year, residents held off rivals from their neighbouring village, thus putting an end to a long dispute over gathering firewood. Since that time, Cournonterral residents have relived the event every year. The Paillasses (people in straw-stuffed tops) chase 'the white men' through the streets of the town with old rags and tissue soaked in wine sediment. The 'white men' come from the town of Aumelas. [1]