Angoulême


Angoulême is a commune, the capital of the Charente department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Angoumoisins or Angoumoisines.
Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of the Charente River, the city is nicknamed the "balcony of the southwest". The city proper's population is a little less than 42,000 but it is the centre of an urban area of 110,000 people extending more than from east to west.
Formerly the capital of Angoumois in the Ancien Régime, Angoulême was a fortified town for a long time, and was highly coveted due to its position at the centre of many roads important to communication, so therefore it suffered many sieges. From its tumultuous past, the city, perched on a rocky spur, inherited a large historical, religious, and urban heritage which attracts a lot of tourists.
Nowadays, Angoulême is at the centre of an agglomeration, which is one of the most industrialised regions between Loire and Garonne. It is also a commercial and administrative city with its own university of technology, and a vibrant cultural life. This life is dominated by the Angoulême International Comics Festival, the FFA Angoulême Francophone Film Festival and the Musiques Métisses Festival that contribute substantially to the international renown of the city. Moreover, Angoulême hosts 40 animation and video game studios that produce half of France's animated production. Currently the city is developing filming for both French television and cinema. Wes Anderson chose Angoulême for his next movie at the end of 2018.
Angoulême is called "Ville de l'Image" which means literally "City of the Image".The commune has been awarded four flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.

Geography

Angoulême is an Acropolis city located on a hill overlooking a loop of the Charente limited in area upstream by the confluence of the Touvre and downstream by the Anguienne and Eaux Claires.

Location and access

Angoulême is located at the intersection of a major north–south axis: the N10 Paris-Bayonne; and the east–west axis: the N14 route Central-Europe Atlantique Limoges-Saintes. Angoulême is also connected to Périgueux and Saint-Jean-d'Angely by the D939 and to Libourne by the D674.
The Angoulême-Cognac International Airport is at Brie-Champniers.

Districts

Old Angoulême is the old part between the ramparts and the town centre with winding streets and small squares. The city centre is also located on the plateau and was portrayed by Honoré de Balzac in "The Lost Illusions" as "the height of grandeur and power". There is a Castle, a town hall, a prefecture, and a cathedral with grand houses everywhere. Unlike Old Angoulême, however, the entire city centre was greatly rebuilt in the 19th century.
Surrounding the city were five old faubourgs: l'Houmeau, Saint-Cybard, Saint-Martin, Saint-Ausone, and la Bussatte. The district of l'Houmeau was described by Balzac as "based on trade and money" because this district lived on trade, boatmen, and their scows. The port of l'Houmeau was created in 1280 on the river bank. It marked the beginning of the navigable part from Angoulême to the sea. Saint-Cybard, on the bank of the Charente, was created around the Abbey of Saint-Cybard then became an industrial area with papermills, especially Le Nil. Saint-Martin - Saint-Ausone is a district composed of two former parishes outside the ramparts. At La Bussatte the Champ de Mars esplanade is now converted into a shopping mall, and adjoins Saint-Gelais.
Today the city has fifteen districts:

Neighbouring communes and villageshttps://www.google.com/maps/place/Angoul%C3%AAme,+France/@45.645821,0.1450394,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x47fe2d85032bc499:0x405d39260eec0f0 Google Maps

Hydrography

The Port-l'Houmeau, the old port on the Charente located in the district of l'Houmeau is in a flood zone and during floods the Besson Bey Boulevard is usually cut.

Geology

Geologically the town belongs to the Aquitaine Basin as does three-quarters of the western department of Charente.
The commune is located on the same limestone from the Upper Cretaceous period which occupies the southern half of the department of Charente, not far from Jurassic formations beginning at Gond-Pontouvre.
The earliest Cretaceous period - the Cenomanian- is in the relatively low areas, at an average altitude of 50m.
The city was established on the Plateau that dominates the loop of the River Charente, a Turonian formation which forms a dissected plateau of parallel valleys and a cuesta facing north that extends towards La Couronne to the west and Garat to the east.
This limestone plateau contains natural cavities which have been refurbished by man in the form of three or four floors of caves, some of which include antique grain silos.
The valley of the Charente is made up of old and new alluvium which provides rich soil for farming and some sandpits. These alluvial deposits were deposited successively during the Quaternary period on the inside of two meanders of the river that are Basseau and Saint-Cybard. The oldest alluviums are on the plain of Basseau and reach a relative height of 25m.

Relief

The old part of the city is built on the plateau - a rocky outcrop created by the valleys of the Anguienne and Charente at an altitude of - while on the river bank the area subject to flooding is high. Angoulême is characterized by the presence of ramparts on a cliff high.
The plateau of Ma Campagne, south of the old town, has almost the same features and peaks at 109 m in the woods of Saint-Martin. The plateau is elongated and separates the valleys of Eaux Claires, which is the southern boundary of the commune, from that of Anguienne, which is parallel.
Both plateaux overlook the Charente valley and the outlying areas such as l'Houmeau, Basseau, and Sillac at their western ends. The plateau of Angoulême is the northwest extension of the Soyaux plateau. L'Houmeau, the station area, and that of Grand-Font are to the north of the plateau along the small Vimière valley, also a tributary of the Charente, but further north than Anguienne is to the south.
The highest point of the city of Angoulême is at an altitude of 133m near Peusec located to the south-east near the border with Puymoyen. The lowest point is 27 m, located along the Charente at Basseau.

The ramparts

Since Roman times ramparts have surrounded the Plateau of Angoulême. Repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt their reconstruction was finally stopped in the 19th century. The Ramparts are classified as historical monuments and the Ramparts Tour is one of the main attractions of the city.
;The Ramparts of Angoulême

Climate

Angoulême is under an oceanic influence and similar to that of the city of Cognac where the departmental weather station is located. Precipitations are modest all year long, with a slight drying tendency during summer.

Toponymy

Since Antiquity and through the Middle Ages, the name of the town has been attested in many forms in Latin and Old French:
The absence of any convincing explanation of the origin of the name of the city has led to several attempts to fit etymological explanations unrelated to the well documented old forms and phonetically unlikely:
Some hypotheses have been advanced with a stronger basis:
At the time of the French Revolution the city was known by the transient name of Montagne-Charente.

Antiquity

The history of the city is not very well known before the Roman period: it is simply known that the plateau was occupied by an oppidum, traces of which were found during excavations in the Saint-Martial cemetery under the name Iculisma. Its currency was Lemovice.
The town was not located on major roads and was considered by the poet Ausonius as a small town. No Roman monuments have been found but it benefited from the Pax Romana and from trade on the river. The town had a prosperous period at the end of the Roman Empire. The rocky promontory overlooking the Charente high and over the Anguienne high formed a strategic position. It was raised to the rank of capital of civitas and the first fortress dates from the end of the Roman Empire. The rampart called Bas-Empire which surrounds 27 hectares of land was maintained until the 13th century. The network of Roman roads were then reorganized to link the town with the surrounding cities of Bordeaux, Saintes, Poitiers, Limoges, and Périgueux.
The city of Haut-Empire remained unknown for a long time. Recent excavations have provided details on the power of the Roman city. A well dug in an early era shows that the water table was very high. A large thermal spa complex was found under the courthouse which is usually related to water supply through an aqueduct.
The first bishop of Angoulême was Saint Ausone of Angoulême in the 3rd century. The administrative importance of the city was strengthened by the implementation of a County in the 6th century with Turpion , adviser to Charles the Bald. However, the town was always attached to the various kingdoms of Aquitaine and the end of antiquity for the city was in 768, when Pepin the Short defeated Hunald II and linked it to the Frankish kingdom. In June 2019, archeologists discovered a prehistoric stone with an engraving of a horse and other animals near Angoulême station. The Palaeolithic stone plate is estimated to be about 12,000 years old.

Middle Ages

When held by the Visigoths, the city followed the arian version of Christianity and was besieged for the first time by Clovis in 507 after Vouillé then taken in 508; "miraculously" according to Gregory of Tours and Ademar of Chabannes.
During the battle, however, Clovis was seriously wounded in the leg - probably a fracture. The fact is reported by tradition and on a wall of a tower from the 2nd century a leg is carved called the "leg of Clovis".
During his stay in Angoulême, after putting the garrison to the sword, Clovis pulled down the old Visigothic cathedral dedicated to Saint-Saturnin to build a new one bearing the name of Saint-Pierre. All that remains of the original building are two carved marble capitals that frame the bay of the axis in the apse of the present cathedral.
In the 7th century Saint Cybard stayed secluded in a cave beneath the extension to the north wall of Angoulême called Green Garden which caused the creation of the first abbey: the Abbey of Saint-Cybard, then created the first abbey for women: the Abbey of Saint-Ausone where the tomb of the first bishop of the city is located.
In 848 Angoulême was sacked by the Viking chief Hastein. In 896 or 930 the city suffered another attack from invading Vikings but this time the Vikings faced an effective resistance. Guillaume I, third Count of Angoulême, at the head of his troops made them surrender in a decisive battle. During this engagement, he split open to the waist Stonius, the Norman chief, with a massive blow together with his helmet and breastplate.
It was this feat that earned him the name Taillefer, which was borne by all his descendants until Isabella of Angoulême who was also known as Isabelle Taillefer, the wife of King John of England. The title was withdrawn from the descendants on more than one occasion by Richard Coeur-de-Lion then the title passed to King John of England at the time of his marriage to Isabella of Angoulême, daughter of Count Aymer of Angoulême. After becoming a widow, Isabella subsequently married Hugh X of Lusignan in 1220, and the title was passed to the Lusignan family, counts of Marche. On the death of Hugh XIII in 1302 without issue, the County of Angoulême passed his possessions to the crown of France.
In 1236 Jewish communities in Anjou and Poitou, particularly Bordeaux and Angoulême were attacked by crusaders. 500 Jews chose conversion and over 3000 were massacred. Pope Gregory IX, who originally had called the crusade, was outraged about this brutality and criticized the clergy for not preventing it.
From the 10th to the 13th centuries the counts of Angoulême, the Taillefer, then the Lusignan strengthened the defences of the city and widened it to encompass the district of Saint-Martial.
In 1110, Bishop Girard II ordered the construction of the present cathedral.

The commune charter

On 18 May 1204 a charter was signed by King John of England to make official the creation of the commune of Angoulême. The King "grants to residents of Angoulême to keep the freedoms and customs of their fair city and defend their possessions and rights". The city celebrated their 800th anniversary throughout 2004.

The Hundred Years War

In 1360 the city, like all of Angoumois, passed into the hands of the Plantagenet English with the Treaty of Brétigny. From 16 to 22 October 1361, John Chandos, Lieutenant of King Edward III of England and the Constable of Aquitaine responsible for implementing the Treaty particularly in Angoumois, took possession of the city, its castles, and the "mostier" of Saint-Pierre. He received oaths of allegiance to the King of England from the main personalities of the city.
The English were, however, expelled in 1373 by the troops of Charles V who granted the town numerous privileges.
The County of Angoulême was given to Louis d'Orléans who was the brother of King Charles VI in 1394 and it then passed to his son Jean d'Orléans, the grandfather of Marguerite de Navarre and François I. The Good Count Jean of Angoulême greatly expanded the County castle after his return from English captivity in the middle of the 15th century.

The modern era

Angoulême, the seat of the County of Angoumois, came into the possession of a branch of the family of Valois from which came François I, King of France from 1515 to 1547 who was born in Cognac in 1494. In 1524 the Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano returned from the Indies. He told François I he had discovered a new territory that he named New Angoulême in his honour. This area later became New Amsterdam then New York.
The duchy, now crown land, thereafter was passed on within the ruling house of France. One of its holders was Charles of Valois, the "natural" son of Charles IX. The last duke of Angoulême was Louis-Antoine, eldest son of Charles X of France.
John Calvin, the promoter of Protestantism and friend of Jean du Tillet the archdeacon of Angoulême, was forced to flee Paris in 1533 and took refuge in Angoulême in the caves of Rochecorail at Trois-Palis. He wrote some of his Institutes of the Christian Religion there which first edition was published in Latin in Basel in 1536.
Angoulême was affected by the Revolt of the Pitauds peasant revolt: in 1541, the gabelle was imposed on Saintonge and Angoumois. These provinces did not pay the tax on salt. The revolt broke out around Angoulême and farmers from the surrounding countryside took the city in July 1548
During the first wars of religion the city took up arms: it was reconquered in 1563 by Montpensier. In 1565 Charles IX passed through the city during his royal tour of France accompanied by the court. In October 1568 the city was taken by the Protestants under Coligny.
Henry III was, in his infancy, the Duke of Angoulême. He left an unflattering description: "The streets of Engolesme are twisted, houses are disordered, the walls built out of various kinds of masonry which show that it was built several times and often taken and ruined"
In 1588 the mayor of Angoulême, François Normand Lord of Puygrelier, was ordered by Henri III to arrest the Duke of Épernon, governor of Angoumois. He led the assault, was repelled, and died on 10 August 1588.
In 1619 Marie de Médicis escaped and was received by the Duke of Épernon, governor of Angoumois. At that time the castle was the residence of the governors.

French Revolution

During the French Revolution the city was called Mountagne-Charente. The first tree of liberty was planted on 5 July 1792.

World War II

On 24 June 1940, the 2nd Verfügungstruppe division Das Reich supported by other units of the Wehrmacht arrived in Angoulême. These troops took prisoners and neutralized the many refugee French soldiers in the city. Their number is estimated between 10 and 20 thousand. They were released in the following days.
The Das Reich division, which became tragically famous in 1944 during the Battle of Normandy, continued their "lightning war" by quickly moving to the Spanish border to quickly set the line of demarkation to cut France in two. Angoulême was located in the occupied zone under German authority and was the seat of the Feld Kommandatur. The border with the free zone, colloquially called the zone nono passed about east of Angoulême through the Forest of Braconne and split the department in two.
On 20 August 1940 a convoy of Spanish Republicans were sent from Angoulême: convoy 927. This was the first convoy of the history of Deportation in Europe. Men over the age of 13 were sent to the Mauthausen camp where very few survived; women and children were sent to Franco. These refugees were gathered in camps of "Combe aux Loups" at Ruelle-sur-Touvre and "Alliers" in Angoulême. It also served as a concentration camp for Gypsies until June 1946.
On 21 October 1941 the young Gontran Labrégère, who tried with his friend Jean Pierre Rivière to set fire to a train carrying straw and munitions in Angoulême railway station, was shot by the occupiers. This was the first of a long list of 98 resistance fighters or hostages from Charente. In 1942 Mayor Guillon was dismissed and accused of belonging to an organisation outlawed by the Vichy regime. He was replaced by a notable industrialist, Pallas.
On 8 October 1942, 387 people of Jewish origin were arrested and deported to Auschwitz. Only eight of them ever returned. On 19 March 1944 allied bombing caused widespread damage and one casualty at the National Explosives factory. On 15 June and 14 August 1944, the railway station was the target of American Flying Fortresses that dumped a carpet of bombs with little damage to the Germans but killing 242 civilians, destroying 400 houses, and caused 5,000 disaster victims in l'Éperon, l'Houmeau, Madeleine, and Grand-Font districts. At the end of August 1944 the Elster column, which was composed of the remains of various German units and the Indische Legion, passed through the city without incident and withdrew.
Various units of FFI from the department and reinforcements from Dordogne then began the encirclement of the city. On the evening of 31 August an attack was launched, putting to flight the remnants of the German garrison. They fortunately did not have an opportunity to reorganize the defence of the city using the numerous and formidable fortifications erected for this purpose. On the night of 31 August to 1 September the city was liberated and a Liberation Committee with a new prefect was installed. This attack, however, resulted in 51 casualties among the different units involved: Maquis de Bir Hacheim, Groupe Soleil, SSS, etc.
A museum in the commune is devoted to the Resistance and the deportations of Jewish and political prisoners. A statue near the station commemorates the deportations to the concentration camps. The survivors of Operation Frankton, notable for their daring raid by canoe on the German U-boat base at Bordeaux, made their escape across country to a safe house at Ruffec just north of Angoulême. This is now the site of a shop featuring British goods. The Monument to the Resistance is in Chasseneuil to the east.

Postwar history

After the war, the city underwent a major expansion of its suburbs. First Grand Font and Bel-Air, following the MRU reconstruction program for war damage of the area around the station which was bombed in 1944. Then in the 1960s the districts of Basseau and the Grande-Garenne were built and then there was the creation of Priority Urban Zones at Ma Campagne in the 1970s.
Gradually industries moved into more spacious industrial zones created in the peripheral communes between 1959 and 1975:
Urbanisation also affected the peripheral communes with housing estates at Soyaux and Ruelle-sur-Touvre and the agglomeration became one of the largest cities in the south-west.
In 1972, the city signed a "pilot city" contract with the State, which allowed the city to make large scale public works - e.g. the small ring road penetrating Ma Campagne and called the way to Europe, the ZUPs at Ma Campagne, the Saint-Martial town centre, underground parking at Bouillaud and Saint-Martial, Montauzier indoor swimming pools at Ma Campagne, a pedestrianized street, a one-way traffic plan with computerized management of traffic lights, STGA urban transport, development of Bouillaud square, Conservatory of Music.
In 1989 after defeat in the municipal elections, the PS deputy mayor, Jean-Michel Boucheron left a hole of 164 million francs in the finances of the city and a debt of 1.2 billion francs. This deficit has burdened the finances of the city and long served as justification for the non-involvement in the completion of public works.
The small ring road was completed in 1995.
Following the construction of the Nautilis swimming complex at Saint-Yrieix by the urban community, the town of Angoulême closed three swimming pools in 2001.

Heraldry

;Development of the coat of arms

Municipality

FromToNamePartyPosition
1212Barthélémy du Puy
1215Pierre Guillaume
1218Hélie d'Aurifont
13811382Jehan Teinturier
13901392Jehan Prevost
1393Brugier
13961399Bernard de Jambes
1397Cumon
1399Mangot Prevost
1400Jehan Prevost
1402Hélie Martin
1410Gentil
1415Baron
1420Pelletan
1429de Lage
1431Seguin
1435Fourreau
1437Jehan Musnier
1438Arnauld Mat
1439de Lisee
14431444Pierre Dormois
14451446Arnauld Mat
14461447Jehan Pelletan
1453Faure
1457Héliot Martin
1458Jehan du Mayne
1460Pierre du Sou
1461Guillaume Prevost
1462Perrinet de la Combe
1463Jehan Maqueau
1464Penot de la Combe
1465Perrinet de la Combe
1466Penot Seguin
1467Penot de la Combe
1468Hélie Martin
1469Perrinet de la Combe
1470Penot de la Combe
1471Guillaume Prevost
1472Penot Seguin
1473Perrinet du Sou
1474Penot de la Combe
1475Perrinet de la Combe
1476Jehan du Mayne
1477Pierre du Sou
1478Penot de la Combe
1479Jacques Bareau
14801481Philippe de la Combe
1482Penot de la Combe
14821483Michel Montgeon
1483Jacques Bareau
14841485Guillaume Brugier
14861487Jacques Bareau
1488Philippe de la Combe
1489Jehan Fourreau
1490Hélie Debresme
1491Bernard Seguyn
14911492Jehan du Mayne
1492Jehan de Lousmelet
14931494André de Bar
14951498Hélie Seguin
14981499Penot du Mayne
14991500Georges Cimitiere
1500Anthoyne Gentilz
1501Regnault Caluau
15021503Hélie du Tillet
1504Hélie de Lagear
1505Cibard Couillard
15061507Pierre de La Place
15091510Guillaume Caluau
1511Cibard Couillard
1512Pierre de La Combe
1513Charles Odeau
15141515Charles de Lousmellet
1516Etienne Rousseau
15171518Caluau
1519Pierre Boessot
15201522Bernard de Marcilhac
1523Jehan de Paris
1524Laurent Journault
1528Jacques de Lesmerie
1529Martial Lizee
1530Guillaume Caluau
1533Pierre Pascauld
1534Guillaume Ruspide
1535Loys Estivalle
1536Jean Montgeon
1537Georges Ruspide
1538François Rouhault
1539Simon Moreau
1540François de Couillault
1541Ythier Jullien
1543Jean Blanchard
1544Jean de Paris
1545Guillaume Ruffier
1546Jean Blanchard
1547Aymar Le Coq
1548Poirier
1549Simon Moreau
1550Guillaume de La Combe
15511552François de Couillard
1553François Terrasson
15541555Guillaume Rousseau
15561557Jean Desmoulins
1558Jean Ruffier
15591560Hélie Dexmier
1561Hélie de La Place
1562Jean Paulte
1563Hélie Baiol
1563François de La Combe
1564Michel Constantin
1565François de La Combe
1566Michel Constantin
1567François de La Combe
1568Jean Girard
1569Etienne Pontenier
1570Jean Paulte
1571Nicolas Ythier
1572François de Voyon
1573Mathurin Martin
15741577Jean Pommaret
1578François Redond
1579Pierre Gandillaud
1580Pierre Terrasson
15811582Pierre Bouton
1583Louis de Lesmerie
1585Hélie Laisne
1586Denys Chappiteau
1587Guymarc Bourgoing
1588François Normand de Puygrelier
1589Etienne Villoutreys
1590Hélie Laisne
1591Jacques Lemercier
15921593François Le Meusnier
1594Cybard Laisne
1595Jean Nesmond
1596Pierre Terrasson
1597Jean Pommaret
15981599Jacques Le Mercier
1600François Le Meusnier
1601Antoine Moreau
1602Jean du Fosse
1603Jacques de Villoutreys
1604Jean de Paris
1605Charles Raoul
1606François Desruaux
16071608François Ruffier
16091610Jacques Le Meusnier
1611Jean Nesmond
1612Guillaume Guez de Balzac
1613François Desruaux
16141616Jacques Le Meusnier
16171619Jean Guerin
1620Jean de Paris
1621François Desruaux
1622Jacques Le Meusnier
1623Antoine Gandillaud
1624Pierre Desforges
16251626Guillaume Lambert
1627François Dufosse
1628Pierre Bareau
1629Jean de Paris
1630Jean Guerin
1631Abraham Jameu
16321633Paul Thomas
16341635Jean Souchet
16361637Hélie Levequot
1638Hélie Houlier
16391640Philippe Arnold
16411642Jean Boisson
16431644Antoine Racault
16451646François Normand de Puygrelier
1647François Pommet
16481649Jean Lambert
16501651Jean Guymard
1652Pierre Briant
16531654François Normand de Puygrelier
1655Philippe Arnaud
1656Jean Preverauld
16571658Jean Gilibert
1659Samuel Paquet
1660Abraham de La Farge
1662Jean du Thiers
16641666Jean de l'Etoile
16671669Jacques Morin
1670François Castin
1673François Abraham de Guips
1676Louis de Chazeau
1679François Nadaud
16821683Jean Arnauld
1686Jean Cadiot de Pontenier
1689Jean Louis Guitton
1692Jean Fe
1693Etienne Cherade
1708Mesnard de Laumont
1718Jean Gervais
1721Pierre Arnauld
1723Henri Rambaud
1724François Arnauld
1728Jean Mesnard
1731Louis Cosson
1738Jean Valteau
1741Elie-Philippe Maulde
1744Pierre de Sarlande
1747Léonard du Tillet
1754Pierre de Labatud
1757Claude Tremeau
1760Noël Limousin
1765Dassier
1766Dumas
1768François Bourdage
1771Chaigneau de La Graviere
1773Pierre Marchais de La Berge
1790Jean Valleteau de Chabrefy
1790Perier de Gurat

FromToNamePartyPosition
1791Louis Desbrandes
1792André Resnier
1793Henry
1793Michel Marvaud-Baudet
1793Louis Desbrandes
1794Michel Marvaud-Baudet
1795Louis Desbrandes
1795Louis Joseph Trion Montalembert
1795Abraham François Robin Puynege
1795Michel Marvaud-Baudet
1796Jean Auguste Dervaud
1797Pierre Mallet
1797François Blandeau
1800Etienne Souchet
1804Descravayat de Belat
1813Pierre Lambert des Andreaux
1815Jean-Baptiste Marchadier
1816Pierre Lambert des Andreaux
1816Pierre Jean Thevet
1825Eutrope Alexis de Chasteignier
1830Ganivet
1830Laurent Sazerac de Forge
1830Philippe Pierre de Lambert
1833Henri Bellamy
1835Alexis Gellibert
1837Paul Joseph Normand de La Tranchade
1841Pierre Vallier
1843Zadig Rivaud
1848Antony Cheneuzac
1849Paul Joseph Normand de La Tranchade
1855Edmond Thomas
1855François Léon Bourrut-Duvivier
1864Laurent Paul Sazerac de Forge
1870Jean Marrot
1874Pierre Eugène Decescaud
1875Jean Hippolyte Broquisse
1879Jean Marrot
1881Henri Bellamy
1888Jean Marrot
1894Auguste Mullac
1896Jean Donzole
1900Auguste Mulac
1919Jean Texier
1925Gustave Guillon
19411944Ariste Pallas

List of Successive Mayors since 1944
FromToNamePartyPosition
19441945Antoine Rougerie
19451947Antonin Denis
19471955Roger Baudrin
19551958Henri ThébaultCNIMP for Charente
19581959Raoul Boucheron
19591970Henri ThébaultCNI
19701977Roland ChironCNILawyer
19771989Jean-Michel BoucheronPSProfessor, MP
19891997Georges ChavanesUDFIndustrialist, MP, Minister
19972008Philippe MottetUMPUniversity Professor, Regional Councillor
20082014Philippe LavaudPSProfessor
20142020Xavier BonnefontUMP

Cantons

Angoulême is divided over three cantons:
The Urban Community of Greater Angoulême or Grand Angoulême includes 16 communes: Angoulême, Fleac, Gond-Pontouvre, La Couronne, Linars, L'Isle-d'Espagnac, Magnac-sur-Touvre, Mornac, Nersac, Puymoyen, Ruelle-sur-Touvre, Saint-Michel, Saint-Saturnin, Saint-Yrieix-sur-Charente, Soyaux, and Touvre.
The population of the conurbation was 103,501 inhabitants in 2006.

Budget and taxation

Taxation is at a rate of 40.20% on buildings, 71.94% on undeveloped land, and 18.43% for the housing tax.
The urban community levies 19.20% business tax.

Urban development

The Champ de Mars is the central square of the city and has had an underground shopping arcade since September 2007.
The eastern ring road was opened in 2004 which opened up several districts. The deviation of the N10 which has bypassed the city since 1973 has formed a western ring road since 2004 when the initial Fléac-Linars project was abandoned.
Rehabilitation operations for collective housing are underway as part of the government Operation for Urban Renewal. The districts of Grande Garenne, Basseau and Ma Campagne were combined in a program of urban regeneration.

Movies and TV series shot in Angoulême

Angoulême is twinned with:

Demographic classification

By population the city of Angoulême is by far the largest city in Charente with 42,242 inhabitants on 1 January 2009.
With a communal area of 2,185 hectares, the density of population is 1,940 inhabitants per km2, making it the most densely populated city in Charente and the third most densely populated city in Nouvelle-Aquitaine after La Rochelle and Poitiers.
In 2008, the Urban Unit of Angoulême, which includes eighteen communes totaled 109,553 inhabitants and its Urban Area, which includes 80 suburban communes in the impact zone of the city, totaled 174,482 inhabitants.
It brings together nearly 106,000 inhabitants within an urban conurbation which extends over from north to south. Angoulême is the most populous commune in the department of Charente and is the third largest Urban Unit in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, ranking just after Poitiers and La Rochelle and ahead of Niort.
Its Urban Area has 178,650 inhabitants and is composed of 108 communes.
The different data show that Angoulême is the largest urban agglomeration in Charente.

Demographic changes

In 2009 Angoulême had 42,242 inhabitants. The commune was 160th in size at the national level, while it was at 145th in 1999, and 1st at the departmental level out of 404 communes.
The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.

Distribution of age groups

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Angoulême and Charente Department in 2009
AngoulêmeAngoulêmeCharenteCharente
Age RangeMenWomenMenWomen
0 to 14 Years17.115.117.315.5
15 to 29 Years25.620.716.414.4
30 to 44 Years20.818.619.218.5
45 to 59 Years17.518.522.221.5
60 to 74 Years11.613.815.816.2
75 to 89 Years7.012.08.612.3
90 Years+0.41.30.51.6

Sources:
Angoulême is a centre of the paper-making and printing industry, with which the town has been connected since the 14th century. Papermaking is favoured because of the uniform temperature and volume of the water year-round, partly due to the Touvre River, which joins the Charente at Angoulême. The Touvre is the second largest river with an underground source in France after the River Sorgue.
The Touvre emerges as a full-blown river from the head of the valley at Ruelle. A trout fishery is located at the source and a pumping station supplies the drinking water needs of Angoulême. Most of the paper mills are situated on the banks of watercourses in the neighbourhood of the town. Cardboard for packaging, as well as fine vellum for correspondence, have been produced in quantity.
The best known export is Rizla+ cigarette roll-up paper, a combination of riz and LaCroix, after Monsieur LaCroix the founder. Le Nil is another local brand of roll-up paper, named not after the Nile in Egypt but after a small tributary of the Charente. The Le Nil paper-mill is now the Paper Museum. Paper-making in the town has been in decline.
The economy of the modern town also is supplemented by annual tourist events and festivals. For example, the printers and paper-makers, whose industry relied on intricate machinery, became skilled mechanics and among the first to become fascinated with the motor car in the late 19th century. Motor trials were held regularly, starting on the long straight road through Puymoyen, now a suburb. Monsieur LaCroix was a celebrated motorcycle racer. The Paris-Madrid road race of 1903, notorious for its cancellation due to numerous deaths, passed through Angoulême. Marcel, one of the brothers Renault, was one of the victims. The place of his death is marked by a memorial on road RN10 to Poitiers.
The town has been closely associated with motor trials and racing. The Circuit des Remparts is held annually, one of the last such street-racing course in France, together with Pau. In addition to local heroes, internationally known racing drivers, such as Juan Manuel Fangio, José Froilán González, Jean-Pierre Wimille, Pierre Veyron and Maurice Trintignant, have been regular participants. The cars which they drove frequently are presented at the modern event. The hotel and restaurant trade receives a considerable boost from the races.
Subsidiary industries, such as the manufacture of machinery, electric motors and wire fabric, are of considerable importance. Angoulême is the most inland navigable port on the Charente River. The traditional river boat is the Gabare. Iron and copper founding, brewing and tanning also continue. The manufacture of gunpowder, confectionery, heavy iron goods, gloves, boots and shoes and cotton goods are also important. There is wholesale and retail trade in wine, cognac and building-stone.

Transportation

The new high-speed link between Tours and Bordeaux bypasses the town centre to the west, but with a link to Angoulême station from both the north and south. It opened in July 2017. Direct TGV journeys from Paris Gare Montparnasse take just over two hours. The Gare d'Angoulême railway station offers connections to Paris, Bordeaux, Tours, Limoges and several regional destinations. The main line of the Paris Bordeaux railway passes through a tunnel beneath the town and is due for large-scale refurbishment to improve travel time.
Angoulême - Brie - Champniers Airport, newly named Angoulême-Cognac airport, is situated NE of the city centre in Champniers, just off the N10. The runway can accommodate the Boeing 737, and a new restaurant and shops were added in 2008. However Ryanair stopped its Angoulême-Stansted service in 2010. Air France used to operate a service to Lyon. There are currently no regular flights to/from Angoulême airport.
Local Buses – The city bus system is run by .

Culture and heritage

Angoulême and Angoumois country together are classified as a City of Art and History.
In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the cathedral and the City Hall, the architecture is of little interest to purists. However, the "old town" has been preserved, maintained and largely reserved for pedestrians. It has a cobbled restaurant quarter, with several galleries and boutiques.
Angoulême contains a very large number of buildings and structures which are registered as historical monuments. For a complete list including links to descriptions .
Below are listed some of the most interesting sites.

Civil heritage

There are very many old houses:
;Places in Old Angoulême
Tours of the town include the murs peints, various walls painted in street-art cartoon style, a feature of Angoulême and related to its association with the bande dessinée, the comic strip. A statue has been erected to Hergé, creator of The Adventures of Tintin. The attractive covered market Les Halles, on the site of the old jail, was restored and refurbished in 2004 and is a central part of city life.
In 2009 the National Council of Cities and Villages in Bloom of France awarded four flowers to the commune in the competition for cities and villages in bloom.
;Gallery

Religious heritage

;Picture Gallery

Environmental heritage

The valley of the Charente upstream from Angoulême is a Natura 2000 zone with remarkable species: 64 species of birds. Among them are species for marshland and wetland; and at Angoulême it is common to see diving and swimming birds, swans, grebes, geese, ducks, teal and scaup on the Charente. It is more rare to see waders. Terns, gulls, great cormorants, return during periods of storms from far upstream on the river.
Marquet island and the Forest of la Pudrerie have been finally cleared and will be provided to the population.
Hiking trails and an old haulage road have become part of the green corridor which allows walks along the river.

Museums

In 1983 the Regional School of Fine Arts in Angoulême was created with the first cartoon section in France.
Angoulême is home to the International City of Cartoons and Images which registers all the comics published in France. There is also at la Cité the ENJMIN which is the first state-funded school in Europe for the key subjects of video games and interactive media.
End of January: Angoulême International Comics Festival,
Late May: Musiques Métisses,
Late August: Festival of Francophone Films,
September: Circuit des Remparts,
Late October: Piano en Valois,
Late November: Gastronomades,
Early November: The Grand Dance Festival

City of festivals

Angoulême, along with paper and printing, has long been associated with animation, illustration and the graphic arts. The Cité internationale de la Bande Dessinée et de l'Image includes an exhibition space and cinema in a converted brewery down by the river. A new museum dedicated to the motion picture opened in 2007 at the newly restored chais on opposite side of the river at Saint Cybard. The architect was Jean-François Bodin. The Angoulême International Comics Festival takes place for a week every year in January and attracts nearly a quarter of a million international visitors.
Another festival, small yet influential, is FITA, held each December. FITA stands for Forum International des Technologies de l'Animation, International Forum for Animation Technologies. The event was started in 1998. Some 250 to 300 French professionals from animation, effects, post-production and game development studios: SFX supervisors, head of studios, animators, technical directors, meet to share information and hear internationally renowned speakers on the latest advances and new ideas in entertainment technology.
The Circuit des Remparts motor racing event, with its street circuit around the ramparts and past the Cathedral, is held the Sunday of the middle weekend in September. It is also the occasion of the world's largest gathering of pre-war Bugatti race cars, usually around 30 cars, many being examples of the legendary T35, the Ferraris of their day. British vintage and classic cars are also in attendance, most having been driven to the event. The Saturday of the "Remparts" weekend includes a tourist rally for classic and sporting cars, around the Cognac area.
In another international sports event, Angoulême was the site of the finish of Stages 18 and 19 in the 2007 Tour de France.
Angoulême also hosts the Gastronomades festival at Christmas, Music Metisse in May and Piano en Valois in October.
A new exhibition centre and a new shopping mall at the Champ de Mars in the town centre are the latest additions to the town.
Angoulême is the seat of a bishop, a prefect, and an assize court. Its public institutions include tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a council of trade-arbitrators, a chamber of commerce and a branch of the Bank of France. It has several lycées, training colleges, a school of artillery, a library and several learned societies.

Facilities and services

Education

Colleges

The University Centre of Charente is administratively attached to the University of Poitiers. It includes:
All medical and paramedical specialties are present.

Worship

Catholic worship

Two regiments of the French armed forces are currently garrisoned in the City:
Several other military formations have been previously garrisoned in the city, including:
;Born in Angoulême:
;Linked to Angoulême