Fort-Mahon-Plage

Fort-Mahon-Plage
Fort-Mahon-Plage
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	Fort-Mahon-Plage
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Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardy
Department	Somme
Arrondissement	Abbeville
Canton	Rue
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Jean-Claude Vannicatte
Area1	13.04 km2 (5.03 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	1,296
• Density	99/km2 (260/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	80333 / 80120
Elevation	1–30 m (3.3–98.4 ft); (avg. 4 m or 13 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.

Fort-Mahon-Plage is a commune in the Somme department in Picardy in northern France.

Geography

The commune is situated on the coast of the English Channel and endowed with a sandy beach and massive sand dunes, Fort-Mahon-Plage attracts many tourists, especially during the summer and at the weekends. Thanks to investment and the fact the town meets many environmental criteria, the town is officially classified (since 2006), as a “station balnéaire”.

Population

Historical population of Fort-Mahon-Plage
Year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2009
Population	942	976	978	962	1042	1140	1296	1311
From the year 1962 on: No double counting—residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) are counted only once.

History

Fort-Mahon-Plage is not a very old town. It seems certain that it did not exist before the 18th century, except, of course, the superb sand dunes and the sea. Then considered rather cold and wild, this part of the coast would have welcomed only fishermen and shellfish gatherers. Indeed, the first town was raised there only a little more than two centuries ago, with a few small shepherds’ huts in 1790. Fort-Mahon-Plage was not considered a commune at all until 1923, when it was officially identified as a separate village from its neighbour Quend-Plage-Les-Pins. Urbanization was steady, notably in the 1950s, with the immense beach of fine sand, in contrast to many of the pebble beaches of Normandy, doing a lot to attract tourists, as well as a soft and pleasant sea during the summer. The huge beach later became famous for its water activities, most notably landyacht racing, wind-surfing and kiting. The town also invested heavily in its infrastructure, most notably the very long principal promenade, the "Avenue de la plage" (Beach Avenue), of a quality design and layout that reinforces the attractiveness of the town.