Bouc-Bel-Air

Bouc-Bel-Air Boc (Occitan)
Commune
The church of Saint-André
Coat of arms
Location of Bouc-Bel-Air
Bouc-Bel-Air Bouc-Bel-Air
Coordinates: 43°27′19″N 5°24′54″E
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Bouches-du-Rhône
Arrondissement	Aix-en-Provence
Canton	Vitrolles
Intercommunality	Aix-Marseille-Provence
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Richard Mallié (LR)
Area 1	21.75 km2 (8.40 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	15,248
• Density	700/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	13015 /13320
Elevation	153–330 m (502–1,083 ft) (avg. 259 m or 850 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Bouc-Bel-Air (French pronunciation: [buk bɛl‿ɛʁ]; Occitan: Boc) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France. It is situated between Aix-en-Provence to the north, Gardanne to the east, Marseille to the south and Vitrolles to the west. The old village is located at the summit of a small hill (a bouc in the regional language Provençal). In 2018, the commune had a population of 14,784.

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,506 —     1800 1,413 −0.91% 1806 1,268 −1.79% 1821 1,344 +0.39% 1831 1,407 +0.46% 1836 1,327 −1.16% 1841 1,320 −0.11% 1846 1,299 −0.32% 1851 1,321 +0.34% 1856 1,321 +0.00% 1861 1,275 −0.71% 1866 1,168 −1.74% 1872 1,159 −0.13% 1876 1,062 −2.16% 1881 938 −2.45% 1886 933 −0.11% 1891 908 −0.54% 1896 895 −0.29%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 798 −2.27% 1906 825 +0.67% 1911 813 −0.29% 1921 794 −0.24% 1926 743 −1.32% 1931 842 +2.53% 1936 867 +0.59% 1946 1,159 +2.95% 1954 1,606 +4.16% 1962 2,158 +3.76% 1968 3,210 +6.84% 1975 4,533 +5.05% 1982 8,714 +9.79% 1990 11,512 +3.54% 1999 12,297 +0.74% 2007 13,604 +1.27% 2012 13,844 +0.35% 2017 14,654 +1.14%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Sights

Bouc-Bel-Air is typically in Provençal style, founded around a rock which formed the foundation of an old castle of the 7th century. It has a particularly nice view of several mountains, including the Sainte-Victoire.

History

Inhabited since very ancient times, its sites witness of Roman-Gallic settlings. Some of these sites date to the 7th century BC. Invasions of the Barbarians took place in the 7th century AD, the probable foundation date of the village. The mother of Adolphe Thiers, second President of France (31 August 1871 – 24 May 1873), was from Bouc-Bel-Air.

See also

• Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department

External links

• Official website