Product Code Database
Castelsarrasin (; ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in Occitanie region of France. The inhabitants are called Castelsarrasinois. It is the second most populous commune in Tarn-et-Garonne after Montauban. It is served by Castelsarrasin station on the Bordeaux-Toulouse line.
The town is also the seat of the Communauté de communes Terres des Confluences.
The Castelsarrasin urban area had 27,861 inhabitants in 2017, making it the 23rd largest urban area in the new Occitanie region. It is, respectively, the central city and the central commune of an urban unit and an area of influence. With a municipal population of 14,343 (2023), Castelsarrasin is the second largest town in the department by population, after Montauban and ahead of Moissac.
Castelsarrasin is located on a major transport route linking Bordeaux and the Atlantic Ocean to the northwest, and Narbonne and the Mediterranean Sea to the southeast, all via Toulouse. This important axis is notably marked by the A62 autoroute, which bypasses the city center to the northeast before reaching Castelsarrasin via an exit near the Artel industrial park. Like Agen's, Castelsarrasin's city center is unique in that it is bordered on both sides by the Garonne River and the Garonne Canal, which is part of the Canal des Deux Mers.
Although Castelsarrasin is not part of Toulouse's metropolitan area, it appears to be strongly influenced by this nearby conurbation of approximately 1.4 million inhabitants, as is the Tarn-et-Garonne department in general.[1], Tarn-et-Garonne, a multipolar territory under the growing influence of Toulouse, INSEE.
Most residents of the city and much of its surrounding area refer to it by the diminutive "Castel." Its inhabitants are called Castelsarrasinois.
It is drained by the Garonne, Gimone, Tarn, Lemboulas, Sère, Larone stream, Rafié stream, Bartac stream, Ravajole stream, Azin stream, Millole stream, Montagné stream, Saint-Michel stream, and a small stream, forming a hydrographic network with a total length of 147 km.
The Garonne is a mainly French river, originating in Spain, and flowing for 529 km before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. It runs along the western flank of the commune.
The Gimone, with a total length of 136 km, rises in the commune of Saint-Loup-en-Comminges and flows from south to north. It crosses the commune and empties into the Garonne at Castelferrus, after passing through 54 communes.
The Tarn, with a total length of 380 km, rises in the commune of Pont-de-Montvert-Sud-Mont-Lozère and flows from east to west. It runs along the northern part of the commune and empties into the Garonne at Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave, after passing through 98 communes.
The Lemboulas, with a total length of 56.7 km, rises in the commune of Lalbenque and flows from northeast to southwest. It flows into the Tarn River, within the municipal boundaries, after crossing 15 municipalities.
The Sère River, with a total length of 31.8 km, rises in the municipality of Castéron and flows from southwest to northwest. It flows into the Garonne River, within the municipal boundaries, after crossing 15 municipalities.
The Larone Stream, with a total length of 23.6 km, rises in the municipality of Montech and flows from southeast to northwest. It flows into the Tarn River, within the municipal boundaries, after crossing 8 municipalities.
Finally, the Rafié Stream, with a total length of 15.5 km, rises in the municipality of Montech and flows from east to west. It flows into the Garonne in the municipal territory, after crossing 5 municipalities.
The climate parameters of the commune have been estimated for the middle of the century (2041–2070) according to different greenhouse gas emission scenarios based on the new DRIAS-2020 reference climate projections. They can be viewed on a dedicated website published by Météo-France in November 2022.
A circular boulevard runs around the city center. The unique feature of this boulevard is that it is almost entirely one-way. This can sometimes complicate travel between certain areas of the city.
A Public transport line connects Montauban to Castelsarrasin with 37 daily round trips.
The town is served by the Castelsarrasin public transport network, La Tulipe, which has two lines, including a circular line divided into two (even and odd directions).
Castelsarrasin is exposed to the risk of forest fires. However, as the Tarn-et-Garonne department generally presents a very localized medium to low hazard level, no Departmental Plan for the Protection of Forests Against Forest Fire Risk (PFCIF) has been developed. Clearing brush around houses is one of the best protections for individuals against fire.
The ground movements likely to occur in the commune are differential settlements.
The shrinkage-swelling of clay soils is likely to cause significant damage to buildings in the event of alternating periods of drought and rain. The entire commune is at medium or high risk (92% at the departmental level and 48.5% at the national level). Of the 4,723 buildings counted in the commune in 2019, 4,723 are at medium or high risk, i.e. 100%, compared to 96% at the departmental level and 54% at the national level. A map of the exposure of the national territory to the shrinkage-swelling of clay soils is available on the BRGM website.
Furthermore, in order to better understand the risk of land subsidence, the national inventory of underground cavities makes it possible to locate those located in the commune.
The risk of transporting hazardous materials within the commune is linked to its crossing by major road or rail infrastructure or the presence of a hydrocarbon transport pipeline. An accident occurring on such infrastructure is likely to have serious effects on property, people, or the environment, depending on the nature of the material transported. Urban planning provisions may be recommended accordingly.
In the event of a serious accident, certain nuclear facilities are likely to release radioactive iodine into the atmosphere. As the commune is located within the 20 km safety perimeter around the Golfech Nuclear Power Plant, it is exposed to nuclear risk. In the event of a nuclear accident, an alert is issued by various media (siren, text messages, radio, vehicles). As soon as the alert is issued, people living within the 2 km perimeter seek shelter. People living within a 20 km perimeter may be required, on the orders of the prefect, to evacuate and ingest iodine tablets.
The name of the locality is attested in the form Castrum Cerrucium in the 9th century, then Castro Sarreceno in 1156.
This is a medieval toponymic formation Castèl-, an Occitan cognate of the French "château" (cf. Castelnau). The second element - sarrasin is the altered form of * Cerrucinum, the ancient name of the locality reused in the new medieval formation Castèl-. This is a common technique in toponymy; for example, Castel-Roussillon (Pyrénées-Orientales, Ruscino in the 1st century) is constructed according to the same principle.
Albert Dauzat considers that the initial place name is of the type * Cerrucinum, that is, * Cerrucius, a conjectural Latin anthroponym, based on the well-attested personal name Cerius, followed by the suffix - inum, common in toponymy and which gave rise to the ending -in in most cases. * Cerrucin was reinterpreted as Sarracin, then Sarrasin by paronymic attraction of the well-known word, with which it is, however, unrelated. There is a homonym Castel-Sarrazin in Landes.
Updated March 1, 2024:
According to P.-H. Billy, the identification made by A. Dauzat between the castrum quod Cerrucium vocatur attested in 847 and Castelsarrasin is erroneous. The town is attested only in the 12th century, in 1137 Castelli Sarraceni then Castro Sarraceno in 1156. The Latin castellum (which appears in the name of 1137), diminutive of castrum (used in 1156), designated, during the early Middle Ages, any fortification erected for military or protective purposes (of an abbey, a town ...) then, from the year 1000, a fortified town. Here, it is a seigneurial castle established by the counts of Toulouse and whose name would be linked to a person, Ramondus Sarracenus. Linked to the count's family through his wife, the latter would have been responsible for setting up, in addition to the sauvetés (urban foundations around the asylum of a church) of Montech in 1134 and of Montauban in 1144, the castelnau (urban foundation around the castle) which took his name. The Occitan form Castel Sarrazi appears in 1162, while the current French form appears to have appeared only in the mid-18th century and does not appear in official nomenclatures until 1818.
In the 14th century, religious intolerance continued to wreak havoc, and in 1320, during the Second Crusade of the Shepherds, thousands of Jews were killed in the region, including 160 in Castelsarrasin alone.
As early as 1337, the Garonne Gate had been walled off and the tower on Avenue de Moissac plastered over.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, floods, plague, and especially the Hundred Years' War ravaged the region, which experienced only a few decades of calm at the beginning of the 16th century.
For, as early as 1560, the Wars of Religion began, during which Catholic Castelsarrasin was at odds with the rest of the region, which was largely Protestant. The Saint-Sauveur Church is one of the few in the area to have escaped destruction.
At the end of the 17th century, Antoine Laumet, known as Lamothe Cadillac, was born in Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave, not far from Castelsarrasin. Sent by the King of France to the Americas, he founded the city of Detroit there and was then appointed governor of Louisiana in 1710. As a sign of gratitude, Detroit gave its name to the famous automobile brand, and "Cadillac Encounters" are held every two years in Castelsarrasin.
Returning to France, he became governor of Castelsarrasin on February 11, 1723, and died there a few years later, in October 1730.
The following centuries, until the Revolution of 1789, were calmer. In Castelsarrasin, as throughout France, the late 18th century was a turbulent time, with the establishment of the Republic and then the First Empire.
From 1790 to 1795, Castelsarrasin was the capital of the Castelsarrasin district, formerly located in Haute-Garonne.
From 1850, the town, which had a population of 7,000, began to grow and expand, particularly thanks to the arrival of the railway and then the "Usine" (a railway station). Similarly, in 1875, a barracks was built; the town still has its own regiment today, which contributes greatly to its vitality.
In the spring of 1944, part of the 4th SS Regiment "Der Führer" of the "Das Reich" Division was stationed there, before being called to Normandy and committing numerous atrocities and massacres en route, including the massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane.
In the 20th century, despite the terrible bloodletting of the two wars, the town continued to expand to the present day, where it has established itself as the second largest economic center in Tarn-et-Garonne.
In May 1968, the sub-prefecture of Tarn-et-Garonne was, after Montauban, the second largest city in which strikes spread. "Contrary to what one might have thought, the Cégédur-Péchiney factory, with its thousand metalworkers, would not be the spearhead of the demonstrations of May 68 in Castelsarrasin, and it was even less the CGT, the most powerful union within the factory, which was the instigator". It was indeed the high school students, helped by their supervisors, many of whom were members of the PSU, who launched the movement. In this department, which was at the time essentially agricultural, the farmers would not be left out. The communist union leader, Paul Ardouin, who had trained with Renaud Jean, managed to mobilize several hundred small farmers.
Castelsarrasin was the finish of Stage 17 in the 2007 Tour de France.
Nevertheless, the 2017 French presidential election revealed a trend in favor of the National Front. The far-right party achieved significant results, ranging from 31.85% in the first round to 48.51% in the second round. This trend appears to be almost universal in most municipalities along the Garonne River, from the south of Tarn-et-Garonne to the Gironde estuary.
Regarding these presidential elections in the municipality, despite Emmanuel Macron's lower score in the first round (20.03%), he won with 51.49% of the vote in the second round. The trend therefore remains uncertain.
The city is the headquarters of the Terres des Confluences Community of Communes, a key player in the city's economic development. This has allowed it to gain greater influence over the surrounding areas, with over 40,000 residents across the entire inter-municipality. The name "Terres des Confluences" is new. It was created on January 1, 2017, from the merger of the "Terre de Confluences" and "Sère-Garonne-Gimone" communities of communes. Before 2014, it was called the "Castelsarrasin-Moissac Community of Communes" and was limited to these two municipalities.
The city is home to a local court. This court, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Toulouse Court of Appeal, has been under the jurisdiction of the Montauban judicial court since the entry into force of the 2018-2022 programming and reform law for justice, and its territorial jurisdiction corresponds to the Castelsarrasin district. The court, like the sub-prefecture, is located on Rue de la Fraternité.
A national police station, a national gendarmerie brigade, and a section of public highway surveillance officers cover Castelsarrasin and its surrounding areas.
Finally, since 1971, the town has been the garrison of the 31st Engineer Regiment (RG) of the French Army.
Previously, between 1949 and 1971, the 17th Airborne Engineer Battalion (RGAP) was stationed at the Banel Barracks (which became a regiment in 1963). The 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment (RGP) is now located in Montauban. Until 2015, the Banel Barracks was used as an annex of the 31st Engineer Regiment (RG). The barracks buildings were returned to the municipality, which now owns them.
In 2022, the municipality had 14,335 inhabitants, an increase of +2.91% compared to 2016 (Tarn-et-Garonne: +3.12%, France excluding Mayotte: +2.11%).
Education plays a major role in the city.
Jean-de-Prades General and Technological High School (plus post-baccalaureate with a BTS in SME-SMI Management Assistant). Jean-de-Prades Vocational High School. Jean-de-Prades Middle School. Pierre-Flamens Middle School. Eight primary schools and seven nursery schools, including two school groups in outlying neighborhoods.
The Red Cross established a committee there in 1942. Since October 2020, its headquarters have been located at 40 bis Route de Toulouse.
The city hosted the 17th stage of the 2007 Tour de France as well as two Tour de France stage starts in 2001 and 2004, and a stopover on July 20, 2012.
The Cercle Athlétique Castelsarrasinois, a rugby union club, competes in the French first division federal championship. They wear red and white. The city hosted the Fiji national team's training sessions during the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup. The club plays its matches at the Adrien-Alary Stadium.
For football, there are two clubs: the Gandalou Football Club (GFC), located in the Gandalou district, which competes in the first district division, and the Entente Football Castel-Moissac, which competes in the promotion d'honneur.
The CAC Cycling Club, a century-old club, is one of the largest cycling clubs in France.
Other activities include tennis, basketball, handball, athletics, and more. In addition, various gym and fitness franchises have opened in recent years, particularly in the Terre Blanche commercial area.
The city has an airfield in the Gandalou district. Amateur aeronautics are practiced there. Furthermore, this airfield is intended to become a commercial airport for low-cost medium-haul flights in the future.
The lava and enameled quartz plant (Pyrolave), which employs over a hundred people, is a world leader in the use of lava and second in quartz mining. Initially a family business, the company was acquired in June 2008 by the Finalp group, which owns Mobalpa while remaining on the Castelsarrasin site.
The municipality has two sites at either end of its perimeter classified as "Seveso 2 high threshold," the highest level since the AZF accident in Toulouse. On the northern outskirts of Castelsarrasin, towards Moissac, the site of the Butagaz gas depot company, in the Barrès 2 zone, raises many questions with the future implementation of the Technological Risk Prevention Plan (PPRT), which risks reducing the economic development of this ZAC. Since September 2009, the inter-municipal zone has been at the heart of a legal imbroglio initiated by Deputy Prefect Patrick Cousinard, who denounced the Delrieu company's building permits. At the same time, this has provoked considerable discontent among local residents, who have had to undertake major work to make their homes safe.
On the other side of town, the Army's fuel supply and storage site is also affected by the same danger.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the northern end of the town has continued to develop. The town's mayor, Bernard Dagen, has repeatedly expressed his strong desire to see the development of "a Castelsarrasin business district," as he puts it. After the relatively large-scale establishment of large retail chains, this area is preparing to welcome the construction of a large multiplex cinema in the Terre Blanche district. This will lead to expropriations.
On the rail front, the town has a freight connection with Beaumont-de-Lomagne, via the Castelsarrasin to Beaumont-de-Lomagne line. Formerly used for passenger transport, the line is now used only for the transport of grain and gasoline for the military supply and storage zone of the Army's fuel service.
As in most peri-urban areas, the main socio-professional categories present in the municipality are employees, manual workers, and intermediate occupations.
In 2018, 39% of the municipality's 15- to 64-year-olds had at least a high school diploma, 23% had at least a university degree, and 10.6% had at least a high school diploma.
36.5% of the population had no diploma.
The Adrien-Alary Stadium (approximately 2,500 seats) is home to the town's rugby union club, and occasionally hosts matches for one of the two football clubs. It is part of a complex including a gymnasium, two fields, and a swimming pool.
The Canal du Midi crosses the town from north to south. Near the town center, the Jean-Yves-Cousteau Port provides ample parking for boaters. In 2015, a river technical center was built near the port. A creation by Dutch artist Ruudt Wackers was installed on this site. A sculpture depicting a rusty steel ship with a continuous jet of water projecting onto it has been much talked about and continues to intrigue passersby.
The city has had an airfield in the Gandalou district (Castelsarrasin-Moissac airfield) since June 22, 1935. "This airfield is at the center of a study project aimed at transforming it into an airport in the medium term that could accommodate low-cost flights and business jets." This project will require significant investment over nearly a decade. In the meantime, the study commissioned by the Castelsarrasin-Moissac community of communes recommends that the inter-municipal authority take over the site.
First mentioned in 961, the Church of Saint-Sauveur was rebuilt in 1254, "in a sumptuous manner." Until 1626, it served as a priory of Moissac Abbey and remained the most important church in the Diocese of Bas-Montauban until the French Revolution of 1789.
It is built entirely of brick, a prime example of early Gothic architecture, with a nave and transept vaulted with pointed arches and side aisles covered by Romanesque pointed barrel vaults.
It features the following characteristics:
The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem were present in the surrounding countryside as early as the 12th century (Saint-Jean-des-Vignes church). Mentioned in the town as early as 1216, the church was partially rebuilt in 1515.
It owes two of its resurrections to two "miracles":
|
|
