Beausoleil, Alpes-Maritimes

Beausoleil
St. Joseph Church's tower
Coat of arms
Beausoleil
Location within Provence-A.-C.d'A. region Beausoleil
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Alpes-Maritimes
Arrondissement	Nice
Canton	Beausoleil
Intercommunality	Riviera française
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Gérard Spinelli
Area1	5.48 km2 (2.12 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	14,078
• Density	2,600/km2 (6,700/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	06012 / 06240
Elevation	40–621 m (131–2,037 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.

Place du Marché (Market Square)

Beausoleil (French pronunciation: ​[bosɔlɛj]; Occitan: Bèusoleu [ˌbɛwsuˈlew]; "Beautiful Sun") is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. It adjoins the Principality of Monaco. Beausoleil was formerly known as Monte-Carlo-Supérieur (Upper Monte Carlo).

Geography

Located on a hillside above the city-state of Monaco, Beausoleil is sourrounded by the Tête de Chien and Agel mountains. It is urbanistically contiguous with the principality and shares some streets, as the Boulevard de France, the Boulevard du Maréchal Leclerc, and the Avenue du Maréchal Foch. Its municipality borders with the Monégasque wards of Monte Carlo, Saint Roman, Saint Michel, Moneghetti and Les Révoires; and with the French municipalities of La Turbie, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and Peille.

Economy

The commune is very intertwined on Monaco. It functions to some extent as a bedroom community as many of its residents are employed in Monaco. The main part of the town consists of Belle Époque houses with ornate entrances. Interesting attractions within Beausoleil include the Gustave Eiffel covered market, St Joseph's Sanctuary (a church with ornate stained-glass windows) and the Fontdivina Fountain and Wash House.

Another attraction is its Stade Vanco, a well-appointed sports centre. Given the town's proximity to Monaco, real estate in Beausoleil is usually prohibitively expensive for many. There is a sense in which the even more expensive Monaco exports its worker accommodation challenge to Beausoleil, which, in turn, exports its own acute accommodation challenge to other French towns further inland.

Politics

The town's border with Monaco was largely fixed during the 18th century. What is now known as Beausoleil was administered from La Turbie prior to 1904, when the town was incorporated. Along with other French communes adjacent to Monaco, the electorate has traditionally had a sizable proportion which is left-leaning: Roger Bennati, mayor of the town 1989-1995, served under Communist affiliation. This may seem strange since Monaco's political parties are more right-leaning.

Former mayors

Date	Name	Party
1904	Camille Blanc
1929	Jacques Subles
1935	Paul-Joseph Chiabault
1941	François Rochesani
1943	Arthur Audoly
1944	Marius Floret
1944	Auguste Dubar
1953	Paul-Joseph Chiabault
1971	Paul Massa
1986	André Vanco
1989	Roger Bennati	PCF
1995	Gérard Spinelli	UDF
2001	Robert Vial	Divers Gauche
2008	Gérard Spinelli

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1968	14,144	—
1975	12,208	−13.7%
1982	11,664	−4.5%
1990	12,326	+5.7%
1999	12,775	+3.6%
2008	14,078	+10.2%

Beausoleil is the home of many Filipino and Portuguese immigrants.

See also

• Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department

References

• INSEE

External links

• (French) Beausoleil official site
• (French) Official Office of Tourism website