Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne


Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
It lies in the Maurienne, the valley of the River Arc. It was also an Episcopal See of Savoy during the Ancien Régime and again from 1825 to 1966. Its original name was simply Maurienne, or Moriana in Italian and Latin.

Geography

Location

Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is located at the confluence of the Arc, a river which has shaped the Maurienne Valley, and the which descends the Arves Valley.
The neighbouring communes of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne are Saint-Julien-Mont-Denis, Jarrier, Hermillon, Villargondran, Albiez-le-Jeune, Albiez-Montrond, Saint-Pancrace and Pontamafrey-Montpascal.

Climate

The climate is the alpine type because of the presence of the Alpine Massif.

CitySunshineRainSnowStormFog------
Paris1797 hrs/yr/yr15 days/yr19 days/yr13 days/yr
------
Nice2694 hrs/yr/yr1 day/yr31 days/yr1 day/yr
Strasbourg1637 hrs/yr/yr30 days/yr29 days/yr65 days/yr
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne1970 hrs/yr/yr... days/yr... days/yr... days/yr
National average1973 hrs/yr/yr14 days/yr22 days/yr40 days/yr

Lines of communication and transport

Roads

Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is on the route of the future Lyon-Turin rail link. Homes, businesses, the current railway station and the rescue centre are affected by this project. The Lyon Turin Railway company which manages the construction projects plans to build new railway station in the Sous-le-Bourg neighborhood, serving both the historic line and the new Lyon-Turin line. Geological and topographical investigations are underway. This project promises to be even more complex than that of the Channel Tunnel.

Public transport

The town of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is equipped with a network of public transport run by the.

Air

A heliport is available for the helicopter of the gendarmerie whose base is located in Modane.

Urbanism

Urban morphology

La Bastille, les Chaudannes and les Clapeys are the three main quarters.

Housing

The total number of dwellings in the commune is 4,240. Among such housing, 87.9% are principal residences, 5.4% are secondary homes and 6.7% are vacant dwellings. These accommodations have a share of 17.5% as individual houses, 79.3% as apartments and finally only 3.2% as dwellings of another type. The number of residents who own their homes is 37.9%. This is lower than the national average which adds up to nearly 55.3%. The number of tenants is 56.7% throughout the housing which is higher than the national average of 39.8%. It may be noted also that 5.4% of the inhabitants of the commune are people who are housed for free while at the level of the whole of the France the percentage is 4.9%. Still on all of the municipality housing, 3.5% are studios, 11.5% are two-room housing, 28.4% have three, 34.5% of dwellings have four rooms, and 22.1% of dwellings have five rooms or more.

Development projects

Toponymy

Locality named after John the Baptist, the precursor, son of Zechariah and Saint Elizabeth, cousin of Jesus, beheaded in 31 AD at the request of the Princess Salome.
Latin name: Mauriana

History

Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne has been the capital of the Maurienne Valley since the 6th century. After Saint Thècle reported from Alexandria the relics of St. John the Baptist which are the three fingers represented on the arms of the city, as well as on the Opinel knife blades, the town was raised to the rank of diocese by Guntram, grandson of Clovis I.
In 753, Grifo went to Italy to join the King of the Lombards, Aistulf, the most powerful opponent of his half-brother, the King of the Franks, Pepin the Short, but he was killed at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne by the men of Pepin.
The oldest possessions of the Counts of Savoy were the counties of Maurienne, Savoy proper, and Belley, with Bugey as its chief town.
The Duchy of Savoy, which had been a French-speaking province under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, was invaded by Revolutionary France, but restored to Piedmont in 1815. It became part of France in 1859, after the Second Italian War of Independence.
The Aix-les-Bains—Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne railway line opened in 1857.
In the early 1900s, the technological advances of Swiss hydroelectric power were originally the subject of intense stock market speculation on hydroelectric companies, which benefitted the Maurienne Valley with industrial facilities, while tourism took off.

Politics and administration

The city of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is a sub-prefecture of the Savoy. The Arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is divided into six cantons:
The city of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is part of the.
It is also the most important city of the.

Political trends and outcomes

Traditionally, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne has been a stronghold of the Socialist left, from the 1930s, due to the importance of its worker labor pool. Thus, Roland Merloz was the Socialist mayor from 1977 to 2008. But since the 1990s and sociological changes in the Maurienne, the right-wing vote has increased. A UMP Councillor General, Pierre-Marie Charvoz, was elected in 2001, Nicolas Sarkozy was in the lead in the two rounds of the presidential elections of 2007, with respectively 33.5% and 56.62%, and in 2008, Pierre-Marie Charvoz won the communal elections.

Municipal government

The municipal Council of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne has 29 members. It is composed of a mayor, seven assistants, four delegate councillors and seventeen councillors.
Roland Merloz, mayor of the city since 1977, announced his desire not to stand in 2008.
The following is the share of seats in the municipal council of Saint Jean de Maurienne:

PartyMain candidateSeatsStatus
UMPPierre-Marie Charvoz23Majority
Union of the LeftHervé Bottino6Opposition


In the municipal elections of March 2008, turnout of the first round was 65.46% with a total of 5,310 people registered to vote in the commune. The number of voters amounted to 3,476 voters which 3,393 expressed themselves. In the first round, the presidential majority list of Ensemble pour Saint Jean with its head, Pierre-Marie Charvoz collected 46.95% of the vote or 1,593 votes. Followed by the list of "Saint Jean 10,000" led by Hervé Bottino, having received 34.39% of the vote or 1,169 votes. In third position, Saint Jean à venir list, headed by Christine Merlin got 13.26% of the votes or 450 votes. Finally the list Vivons Saint Jean , led by Florence Arnoux Le Bras got 5.39% or 183 votes.
In the second round, the turnout was 68.57%. The number of voters amounted to 3,642 voters with 3,509 expressing themselves. In the second round, the presidential majority list of Ensemble pour Saint Jean with its head, Pierre-Marie Charvoz collected 55.40% of the vote or 1,944 votes and won 23 seats. The list of "Saint Jean 10 000" conducted by Hervé Bottino, received 44.60% of the vote or 1,565 votes and was therefore awarded 6 seats. The other lists were not present in the second round.

List of mayors


StartEndNamePartyOther details
18601862Cyrille Richard...Mayor
18621865Antoine Mottard...Mayor
18651870Cyrille Richard...Mayor
18701870Alexis Magnin...Provisional mayor
18701874Maurice Petit...Mayor
18741876Cyrille Richard...Mayor
18761881Ignace Deleglise...Mayor
18811904Florimond Truchet...Mayor
19041911Joseph Vuillermet...Mayor
19111912Charles Bonnivard...Mayor
19121935...Mayor, député
19351938Alphonse Thibieroz...Mayor
19381943Jean-Pierre Bouttaz...Mayor
19431944Guido Fodéré...Mayor
19441945Georges Beaufils...Mayor
19451953UNRConseiller général, député
19531971Samuel PasquierUNRMayor
19711977Charles GubianUNRMayor
19772008Roland MerlozPSConseiller général
March 2008In progressPierre-Marie CharvozUMP then UDIMayor/Conseiller général

Twin towns

Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is twinned with:

Demography

In 2012, the commune had 8,067 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses carried out in the town since 1793. From the 21st century, communes with a population of less than 10,000 have real censuses held every five years, unlike other municipalities which have a sample survey each year.
The evolution of the population structure of the commune of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, comparison between the years 1999 and 1982:
The total number of households in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is 3,729. These households are not all equal in numbers of individuals. Some of these households contain one, others two, three, four, five or even more than six people. Here, below, is the data as a percentage of the distribution of these households, compared to the total number of households.

Households

Teaching

Kindergartens:
Primary schools:
Collèges:
High schools:

Sports

Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is located close to some of the major Alpine passes, and of the Les Sybelles ski area and the Vanoise National Park. Activities are available for nature and sports enthusiasts, both hikers and cyclists, as well as skiers. Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne provides access to the Croix-de-Fer, the Télégraphe, the Lautaret, the Grand Cucheron, the Madeleine, the Glandon, the Iseran, Mont Cenis and the Galibier mountain passes. The city regularly hosts major cycling races such as the Tour de France or the Critérium du Dauphiné. The Tour de France came to the commune during the 2006, 2010, and 2012 races. The 2015 Tour de France is due to have a stage finish in the commune on 23 July, at the end of stage 18. The following day, it will also be the departure point for stage 19.

Media

Local television:
Local radio:

Economy

Income of the population and taxation

Employment

The unemployment rate for the commune, in 1999, amounted to 8.8%, with a total number of 359 unemployed. The workforce between 20 and 59 years stood at 84%, which is higher than the national average at 82.2%. There were 46% of people employed versus 19.1% of retirees, whose number is slightly higher than the average national. There were 21.9% of people of school age and 13% of people without activity.

Distribution of employment by industry

Businesses in the agglomeration

: Currently, an important activity of production of aluminium by electrolysis of alumina still exists thanks to a Trimet France factory. The factory celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007.

Commerce

With tourism growing through the winter sport resorts and the proximity of the major passes of the Alps and of the Vanoise National Park, local commerce is a new dynamic.

Local culture and heritage

Places and monuments

Medieval period

The Clos Carloz and the recreation area of the Combe are the main green spaces in the city. There is also the Garden of Europe and the Saint Ayrald Garden.

Gastronomy

Cultural heritage

The commune has several museums:
Notable cultural associations:

Green and floral spaces

In 2014, the commune of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne has the "Floral City" label with "three flowers" awarded by the National Council of floral cities and villages of France in the Concours des villes et villages fleuris.

Personalities linked to the commune

Born in the commune:
Other personalities: