Villeneuve-Loubet

The village overlooked by the Château de Villeneuve-Loubet

Coat of arms

Villeneuve-Loubet

Location within Provence-A.-C.d'A. region

Villeneuve-Loubet

Coordinates: 43°39′32″N 7°07′20″E / 43.6589°N 7.1222°ECoordinates: 43°39′32″N 7°07′20″E / 43.6589°N 7.1222°E

Country

France

Region

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Cagnes-sur-Mer Ouest

Sophia Antipolis

Government

• Mayor (2008–2014)

Richard Camou

Area¹

19.60 km² (7.57 sq mi)

Population (2008)²

14,427

• Density

740/km² (1,900/sq mi)

INSEE/Postal code

06161 / 06270

Elevation

0–213 m (0–699 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

² Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Villeneuve-Loubet (pronounced: [vilnœv lube] is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.

It lies between Cagnes-sur-Mer and Antibes, at the mouth of the Loup River.

It was created by the joining two old villages: the old village of Villeneuve inland and the village of Loubet on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Its inhabitants are called Villeneuvois.

Economy

It is at the same time a seaside resort and part of the technopole of Sophia Antipolis, many companies of the tertiary sector being installed in the city.

Culture

Villeneuve-Loubet is the birthplace of the famous 19th century provençal chef, restaurateur, and culinary writer Auguste Escoffier, the author of the Guide Culinaire and the founder of French haute cuisine. Villeneuve-Loubet was also, from 1920 onwards, the home of Maréchal Philippe Pétain (1856–1951), the "Hero of Verdun" in World War I and chief of state of the Nazi-collaborationist État Français, commonly known as Vichy, in World War II. Pétain was sentenced to death for treason in 1945; this was commuted to life in prison by Charles de Gaulle and he died a prisoner at Fort de la Pierre-Levée on the Ile d'Yeu in 1951 at the age of 95.

Villeneuve-Loubet was also the site of a battle in World War II when it was liberated by the First Special Service Force on August 26, 1944. The tower of the castle was damaged by a shell fired by the US Navy, and dozens of soldiers from both sides were killed or wounded. In 2006, the bodies of fourteen Germans who were killed during the fighting were discovered in a mass grave near the town by a local medical student.

Saint Marc Church (15th century): The stained glasses have been realised by the artist painter Pier Lecolas in 2006.