Villeneuve-Loubet

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:
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Alpes-Maritimes
Arrondissement	Grasse
Canton	Villeneuve-Loubet
Intercommunality	Sophia Antipolis
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Richard Camou
Area1	19.60 km2 (7.57 sq mi)
Population (2010)2	15,020
• Density	770/km2 (2,000/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 river Loup.

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.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1962	2,769	—
1968	3,865	+39.6%
1975	6,001	+55.3%
1982	8,083	+34.7%
1990	11,539	+42.8%
1999	12,935	+12.1%
2010	15,020	+16.1%

International relations

The commune is twinned with:

• Forlimpopoli, Italy

See also

• Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department

References

• INSEE