Aiglun, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence


Aiglun is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.

Geography

Aiglun is located about 6 km southeast of Digne following Route nationale N85, which runs mostly parallel to the Bléone river which forms the southeastern border of the commune. Highway N85 continues through the southern part of the commune towards the next town of Malijai. The village lies about 3 km north of the N85 along a country road, the Avenue Marius Autric, which loops through the commune to intersect with Highway D17 outside the southwestern border of the commune. No other major roads run through the commune, and access is via country roads and lanes. Much of the commune is forested, with patches of farmland.

Hydrography

A large number of streams cover all parts of the commune, most of which flow into the Bléone river on the southeastern border, which is itself a tributary of the Durance river.

Localities and hamlets

In addition to the village, the town has three other hamlets:

Natural and technological hazards

All of the 200 communes of the department are in some seismic risk. The canton of Digne-les-Bains-2, to which Aiglun belongs, is zoned 1b according to the classification of 1991, based on historical earthquakes, and in Zone 4 according to the probability classification EC8 of 2011. The commune of Aiglun is exposed to three other natural hazards:
Aiglun is also exposed to a risk of technological origin: the transport of hazardous materials by rail, road and pipeline. As regards the railway, the St. Auban to Digne line is closed and so there is no traffic. The National Highway 85 can be used for the road transport of dangerous goods. Finally, the pipeline for feeding natural gas to Digne passes through the commune and is thus an additional risk factor.
The prevention plan for foreseeable natural risks of the commune was approved in 2006 for flood risk, landslide and earthquake and the Dossier of communal information on major risks has existed since 2011.
The commune has been the site of several natural disasters: an earthquake in 1984, floods and mudslides in 1996 and 2001, drought in 1989, 1990, and 1998, and landslides in 1996.
The earthquake of 19 June 1984 had its epicentre in Aiglun and a macro-seismic intensity of VI on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale. On 25 July 2001 a storm with hail and rainfall of 150mm in three hours caused floods.

Toponymy

The name of the town appears for the first time in texts of 1195 in the form: Aiglezino. The term is based on the Latin aquila meaning "eagle" and the Gallic dunum meaning "height" and would therefore mean "height of the eagle". According to Fénié, it has two oronymic roots: *akw-il plus the Celtic dunum.

History

In ancient times, the Bodiontiques inhabited the valley of the Bléone, and so it was Gallic people who lived in what is now the commune of Aiglun. The Bodiontiques, who were defeated by Augustus Caesar at the same time as other people living in the area of the Tropaeum Alpium, were attached to the Roman province of Alpes-Maritimes at its creation. The Roman road linking Sisteron to Vence crossed the territory of the present commune. Some Gallo-Roman tombs have been found.
The community of Aiglun was under the Viguerie of Digne and the church of the Bishop of Digne who received income related to the church. In return he provided his canons. On the secular side, the village was divided between multiple lords which by 1315 had reached 22 in number. The village was an ancient fortress called castrum de Aglenio in the Middle Ages.
At the end of the Second World War, the Liberation of Aiglun was marked by the passage of a column of the U.S. 36th Infantry Division on 19 August 1944, coming from Malijai as reinforcements to secondary column stopped at Digne, to outflank the German garrison at Digne.
Until the middle of the 20th century, grapevines were cultivated in the commune on 55 hectares of land for local consumption. Part of the production was sold to Digne. This activity has now disappeared.

Heraldry

Transport

The railway line from Saint-Auban to Digne passed through the town, but has been closed since 1991.

Economy

In 2009, the labour force was 589 persons, with 55 unemployed. The workers are mostly employed and mostly work outside the county. Most of those employed in the commune are employed in services and administration. Industry and construction employ 26.6%% of workers, and agriculture a little over 9%.
At 1 January 2011, companies based in the municipality were mainly shops and services and 14 companies in the construction sector.

Agriculture

At the end of 2010 the primary sector had nine different establishments.
The number of farms has increased only slightly in the 2000 decade, from 7 to 8 in 10 years, including four field crop farms, sheep farms, and polyculture farms. From 1988 to 2000, the agricultural area has increased from 267 to 415 hectares, of which only 56 hectares are for cereals, and almost none for livestock. During the course of this change the amount of agricultural land used doubled in the 2000s to 886 hectares.
There were no olive trees in the commune at the beginning of the 19th century. Currently, there are a few small areas with olive groves with less than 1,000 plants.

Industry

In late 2010, the secondary sector had 26 different establishments, employing a total of 162 employees.
Two of the largest employers in the town within this sector are:
In 2009, the tertiary sector had 50 establishments, plus 13 administrative establishments and public services.
According to the departmental Tourism Observatory, tourism is of secondary importance to the commune, with less than 1 tourist per inhabitant and a limited capacity for accommodation. Buildings to accommodate tourists are rare in the commune:
Finally, the secondary homes are quite marginal compared to the total housing.
Two of the largest employers in the commune are responsible for service activities:

List of mayors

The mayoral election was an innovation of the French Revolution of 1789. From 1790 to 1795, mayors were elected by suffrage for 2 years. From 1795 to 1800 there was no mayor, the town simply designated a municipal official who was delegated to the Municipality of the canton.
In 1799–1800, the Consulate returned to the election of mayors who were then appointed by the central government. This system was maintained by the following regimes, with the exception of the Second Republic. After maintaining the authoritarian system, the Third Republic by liberalizing the law for the administration of communes on 5 April 1884: the municipal council was to be elected by universal suffrage and they to elect the mayor from among their members.
List of Successive Mayors of Aiglun
FromToNamePartyPosition
2001CurrentDaniel JugyDVD

Intercommunality

Aiglun has been a member of the Community of communes Asse Bléone Verdon since 1 January 2013.

Budget and taxation

The regional share of the property tax is not applicable. The business tax was replaced in 2010 by:
.

Education

The town has a primary school.

Population

Politics

Presidential Elections Second Round:

Sights

The town hall has a vase which is listed as an historical object.
The Romanesque church of Saint Mary Magdalene, whose nave is dated to 1555, is at Old Aiglun. Its construction used anachronistic techniques such as:
The church contains many items which have been listed as historical objects:
The cemetery church contains many items that are listed as historical objects:
The chapel of Saint John is on the road leading to Saint John, connecting the town centre to Old Aiglun. This was probably the first parish church in the community during the High Middle Ages. It was abandoned in the second half of the 19th century.
The modern village had a new church in 1974, whose patron saint is Saint Delphine.
The chateau of Villeneuve in Aiglun dates to the 17th century. It is a large rectangular building with turrets at each corner. A clinic was installed there in 1935. In the village, the old castle is in a state of disrepair.
In the village, a few houses date to the 17th century.