Frontignan

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Coordinates: 43°26′54″N 3°45′22″E / 43.4483333333, 3.75611111111

Administration
Commune of Frontignan Frontignan Town Hall
Frontignan la Peyrade
Location

Time Zone	CET (GMT +1)
Country	France
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon
Department	Hérault
Arrondissement	Montpellier
Canton	Frontignan (chief town)
Intercommunality	Bassin de Thau
Mayor	Pierre Bouldoire (PS) (2008-2014)
Statistics
Elevation	0 m–223 m (avg. 2 m)
Land area^¹	31.72 km²
Population^² (2006)	22,144
- Density	603/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	34108/ 34110
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.

Frontignan la Peyrade (Occitan: Frontinhan) is a commune of the Hérault département, in France with a population of 23,000. Frontignan is renowned for its AOC wine, the Muscat de Frontignan, a sweet wine made solely from the Muscat grape variety.

1 Main sights
2 Geography
3 Economy
4 History
5 Culture
6 Twin towns
7 External links

[edit] Main sights

Old town centre with remains of the fortress dating back to the 14th century
Saint-Paul's Church (in parts 12th century)
The Penitents' chapel (including the city's museum)
Maison Poulation (early 20th century)
Château Stony
Château de la Peyrade
La Peyrade bridge (17th century)
Yacht port
Natural reserve beaches
Aresquiers naturtal reserve
Argeliès caves

[edit] Geography

Frontignan is located in the Languedoc coastal plain between the towns of Sète and Montpellier.

The town is surrounded by the Gardiole mountain range in the north, the Ingril lagoon in the east, the Étang de Thau in the west and the Mediterranean shore (including the beach resort Frontignan-Plage) in the south.

The Rhône-Sète canal separates the inland town centre and Frontignan-Plage.

[edit] Economy

Until the early 20th century the local economy was based on the production of marine salt and wine. Later petro-chemical and chemical industries predominate with a steady decline in the 1980s. The oil refinery that opened in 1900 was converted to a simple depot in 1986.

Since the end of the 20th century modern fisheries and high tech plastics take over. Seasonal tourism is a dominant part of the local economy.

Important businesses in Frontignan include:

Distrisud S.A.
Indubois S.A.S.
Hexis S.A.
Barba S.A.S.
Frontignan Coopérative S.C.A.
Mobil Concepts s.à.r.l.

[edit] History

1362 foundation of the fortress
1560 ransacked by the Protestants
16 June 1642: King Louis XIII of France and Cardinal Richelieu meet in Frontignan.
1787: Thomas Jefferson, future president of the United States, stays in Frontignan and reportedly enjoys the local Muscat de Frontignan wine.
25 June 1944: The Frontignan oil refineries and parts of the city (including the rail station) are bombed by the 15th USAAF causing some 40 civilian deaths.
31 December 2002: Frontignan together with the neighbouring towns of Sète, Balaruc-les-Bains, Balaruc-le-Vieux, Vic-la-Gardiole, Mireval, Gigean and Marseillan joins the district of Thau (Communauté d'agglomération du Bassin de Thau).

[edit] Culture

Frontignan is the home town of the writer Maurice Clavel.
Every year since 1998 Frontignan organises the annual Festival International du Roman Noir.
Bull fighting and river jousting are the traditional sports.