Cournonterral

Cournonterral is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France.

Map
Cournonterral
Commune
Tower and Sainte-Croix church
Coat of arms
Location of Cournonterral
Cournonterral
Cournonterral
Coordinates: 43°33′32″N 3°43′12″E
CountryFrance
RegionOccitanie
DepartmentHérault
ArrondissementMontpellier
CantonPignan
IntercommunalityMontpellier Méditerranée Métropole
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Thierry Breysse
Area
1
28.62 km2 (11.05 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
6,110
 • Density210/km2 (550/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Cournonterralais
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
34088 /34660
Elevation29–320 m (95–1,050 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Population
Historical population
YearPop.±%
19621,887—    
19682,088+10.7%
19752,460+17.8%
19823,062+24.5%
19904,095+33.7%
19995,069+23.8%
20085,664+11.7%

Residents are known as Cournonterralais.

Festival

The town is known for an annual festival known as Pailhasses. The festival has taken place in Cournonterral every Ash Wednesday since 1346. In that year, residents held off rivals from their neighbouring village, thus putting an end to a long dispute over gathering firewood. Since that time, Cournonterral residents have relived the event every year. The Paillasses (people in straw-stuffed tops) chase 'the white men' through the streets of the town with old rags and tissue soaked in wine sediment. The 'white men' come from the town of Aumelas.

A fictionalized version of the Pailhasses is presented in Agnès Varda's film "Vagabond".

See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.


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