Anais, Charente-Maritime

Anais
Commune
The church in Anais
Location of Anais
Anais Anais
Coordinates: 46°11′16″N 0°54′26″W
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Charente-Maritime
Arrondissement	Rochefort
Canton	La Jarrie
Intercommunality	Aunis Sud
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Hervé Gaildrat
Area 1	9.44 km2 (3.64 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	316
• Density	33/km2 (87/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	17007 /17540
Elevation	3–29 m (9.8–95.1 ft) (avg. 16 m or 52 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Anais (French pronunciation: [anɛ]) is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France.

Geography

Anais is located some 15 km east of La Rochelle and 5 km south by south-east of Nuaille-d'Aunis. It can be accessed by the D107 road from Dompierre-sur-Mer in the west passing through the centre of the commune south of the village and continuing to Bouhet. The D113 road also comes from Virson in the south passing through the southern part of the commune and continuing north-east to Le Gué-d'Alleré. Access to the village in the north of the commune is only by small country roads running off the D107 and the D113. Apart from the small village of Anais there is also a larger village called Les Grandes-Rivieres located on the D113 road.

The Curé stream forms the eastern boundary of the commune and the Virson forms the northern part of the western boundary and they both meet at a place called le Gouffre (the Pit) which is the start of the Canal du Curé on the municipal boundary of the neighbouring commune of Angliers.

The small village of Anais is built on a low limestone hill, at an altitude of about 13 metres, and it is surrounded by numerous marshes, being located in the southern part of the Marais Poitevin which belongs geographically and historically the plain of Aunis.

It is in this part of the Marais Poitevin that the course of the Curé enters the vast marshy bowl after leaving the last calcareous soils of Aunis in the neighbouring commune of Bouhet.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

From	To	Name	Party	Position
2001	2014	Gérard Grelier	SE	Retired
2014	2020	Bruno Gautronneau	DVG
2020	2026	Hervé Gaildrat

Population

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Anaisiens or Anaisiennes in French.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	197	—
1975	195	−0.15%
1982	211	+1.13%
1990	231	+1.14%
1999	210	−1.05%
2007	284	+3.85%
2012	326	+2.80%
2017	320	−0.37%
Source: INSEE

Distribution of Age Groups

The population of the commune is younger than the departmental average.

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Anais and Charente-Maritime Department in 2017

	Anais		Charente-Maritime
Age Range	Men	Women	Men	Women
0 to 14 Years	16.8	19.7	16.3	14.3
15 to 29 Years	13.0	13.2	15.4	13.1
30 to 44 Years	16.8	22.4	16.7	16.1
45 to 59 Years	29.8	23.0	20.2	19.9
60 to 74 Years	17.4	17.8	21.1	22.0
75 to 89 Years	6.2	3.9	9.4	12.3
90 Years+	0.0	0.0	1.0	2.4

Source: INSEE

Sites and Monuments

• The Church of Saint Peter from the 10th century.

Transport

Nearest Railway Stations and Halts

• Surgères (TGV) 14 km
• Mer 17.8 km
• Aytré (halt) 18.1 km
• Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon (halt) 18.2 km
• Châtelaillon 18.5 km

Nearest Airport and aerodromes

• La Rochelle (Laleu) 22.1 km
• Rochefort-Saint-Agnant 33.8 km
• Niort-Souché 41.4 km

See also

• Communes of the Charente-Maritime department

External links

• Anais on the National Geographic Institute website (in French)
• Anais on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
• Ancix on the 1750 Cassini Map