Gap, Hautes-Alpes


Gap is a commune in southeastern France, the capital and largest town of the Hautes-Alpes department. At a height of 750 m above sea level, it is France's highest prefecture.
Together with other Alpine towns, Gap engages in the Alpine Town of the Year Association for the implementation of the Alpine Convention to achieve sustainable development in the Alpine Arc.
Gap was awarded Alpine Town of the Year in 2002. In 2013 Gap was named the sportiest city in France by the national sports newspaper L'Équipe.

Geography

Location

An Alpine crossroads at the intersection of D994 and the Route nationale 85, or Route Napoléon, which crosses the Col Bayard north of the city, Gap is located between the historic Dauphiné and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur administrative region. With its 40,761 inhabitants, it is the main town of an urban area of 62,072 inhabitants, which is the main town of the. above sea level, at the right bank of the, close to where it joins the Durance River to the north, Gap is in the midst of a rich and preserved natural environment, south-west of the Écrins National Park, south-east of the and west of the Lac de Serre-Ponçon. The region around Gap is known as.

Geology and terrain

The commune of Gap is almost entirely located in the Sillon de Gap , a wide valley bottom located about above sea level and including the western slopes almost .
The highest point of the municipality is however outside this great valley, on another watershed slope, the Raz de Bec, at, is within the limits of the commune, and was in the former commune of Chaudun, which merged with Gap in the 19th century.
This valley was shaped by the Glacier de la Durance during the last ice age, known as the Würm glaciation.
Thus, soils are very often formed by moraine deposits. No less than five levels of lateral and frontal moraines are observable. These are clearly visible, especially on the southern slopes of the Col Bayard, where they were formed in places of the terraces used by agriculture.
In retreating, the glacier also left erratics of several metres high. Examples include, among others, the erratic boulders of Peyre-Ossel and Justice.
The glacier, which in the Quaternary has shaped the Sillon de Gap, presented several : one to the glacier of the Drac from the cols of Manse and Bayard and one towards the Buëch Valley by the La Freissinouse border.
The cover of morainic debris is omnipresent in the Sillon de Gap but is not the only vestige of the Quaternary glaciation. There is also the typical topography of glacial valleys. The location of the town of Gap corresponds to an, where large quantities of clay were deposited. Upstream lies the of Pont-Sarrazin and downstream of Tourronde.
The mechanical action of the glacier de la Durance was facilitated by the presence of relatively friable layers. The part which is central and south-east of the town consists mainly of soft rocks. They consist of soft schist of bluish or brown colors. In the northwestern part are the harder rocks of lighter colours, Tithonian limestone, formed in places of rocky bars or cornices.

Hydrography

The town of Gap is crossed by the, a tributary of the Durance which has a total course of. During its passage through the commune, the Luye receives several torrents. It merges on the right bank with the long Buzon, the Bonne and the torrent du Cristaye ; and on the left bank, the La Magdeleine Canal, the Riotord and the torrent du Partiment, long.
Even if the Luye hydrographic basin represents the largest share of the commune, waters at the southwest of the commune drain into the torrent of Malecombe, a tributary of the Rousine, which flows into the Durance south of Tallard.
In the Northwest of the commune lie the sources. Around above sea level, they are formed by several streams which converge at the old village of.
Finally, an important channel feeds Gap with drinking water and water for irrigation: The, or Canal du Drac, about long, leads the water captured in the Drac via a tunnel under the Col de Manse to the Jaussauds reservoir where it divides into two branches, including the main branch which bypasses Gap west to Correo through Charance.

Climate

Gap features a rare warm-summer mediterranean continental climate, according to the Köppen system. Very influenced by its interior position, the city experiences cold to very cold, snowy winters and warm to hot, dry summers. Therefore, the climate is more or less alpine.
Thus the main feature of the local climate is the importance of the sunshine enjoyed by the city. Furthermore, snowfall underscores the mountain character of the city. Thunderstorms are frequent in summer, fog is rather rare.

CitySunlightRainSnowThunderstormFog
Paris1797 h/yr642mm/yr15 days/yr19 days/yr13 days/yr
Nice2694 hrs/yr767mm/yr1 day/yr31 days/yr1 days/yr
Strasbourg1637 hrs/yr610mm/yr30 days/yr29 days/yr65 days/yr
Gap2940hrs/yr868mm/yr19.1 days/yr32 days/yr7 days/yr
National average1973 hrs/yr770mm/yr14 days/yr22 days/yr40 days/yr


The tables below represent averages of monthly temperatures.
They also show the maximum and minimum mean temperatures over the period from 1951–1970.
Comparisons with surveys of the period from 1878-1940 showed lower maximum averages over the period from 1950-1970 for the winter and summer months. Over the same period, again for the winter and summer months, there was an increase in the average minimum. Thus the evolution of the climate tends towards a slight reduction of differences in winter temperatures on the one hand, and summer on the other.
Extreme temperatures also highlight the mountain and Mediterranean components of the climate. Indeed, over the decade 1951-1960 the absolute minimum recorded was on 3 February 1956. While the absolute maximum was of observed 8 July 1952.
The evolution of the average monthly temperatures and an average monthly rainfall are summarized in the chart below.
Outside of the valley breezes, the prevailing wind is from the north, locally named the bise wind. In fact, it is a component of the mistral. Up the Drac Valley, this wind crosses the Bayard plateau down to Gap. When it carries clouds, there is the phenomenon of "the bar of Bayard": a compact pile of clouds covering the Bayard plateau. Pushed by the wind, they descend into the valley. Under the effect of the increase in pressure and temperature, these clouds disappear immediately a few hundred metres further down. Even in perpetual motion, cloud cover appears motionless. If these conditions are synonymous with freshness in autumn and spring, and bright cold in the winter, they are always accompanied by a perfectly sunny and clear atmosphere above the city.

Channels of communication and transport

Road network

The town of Gap lies at a crossroads. The route nationale heads towards the north and the south, the to the east and the departmental RD 994 road to the west.
The RN 85 travels north to Grenoble. Sisteron is located in the opposite direction, and eventually also to the Mediterranean. The RN 94 travels to reach Briançon and towards Italy via the Col de Montgenèvre. Meanwhile, the RD 994 joins with Pont-Saint-Esprit in Gard, more than distant.
separates Gap from La Saulce on the motorway. This highway provides fast travel to Aix-en-Provence and Marseille away, via the Durance Valley. A planned extension of this highway to the north, to the seems definitively buried. Although it has been desired by elected officials for the voters and the State, in order to divert trucks from the A7, the absence of this highway has not created the announced decline. On the contrary, the city ceased to grow without being absorbed by its relatively distant neighbours thanks precisely to its relative isolation from the main road network, including Grenoble.
Taking into account the increase in road traffic, the creation of an urban boulevard became a prospect of improvement. This one long and comprising several structures, could bypass the city from the west. Concerning also the transit of traffic serving the city itself, it would act as a bypass, leaving the RN 85, close to the area of Micropolis to the southwest and lead to the RN 94, north-east towards the Romette intersection.

Rail

The city is served by SNCF.
Gap is connected directly to Paris daily by a sleeper train network Intercités at night, but also by Corail or TER to Briançon, Grenoble, Valence, as well as to Aix-en-Provence and Marseille.
In the 1930s, work aimed at the establishment of a metric line between Gap and Corps by the Col de Manse was undertaken. These were never finished and the was never born. Portions were reused for the basis of the route nationale.
The was also begun in the east, but never completed. A double curve viaduct remains beneath the waters of the Lac de Serre-Ponçon.

Air transport

Located from Gap, the Gap–Tallard Airport can handle passenger traffic.
The company Air Alpes operated a DHC-6 Twin otter, with a regular service between Paris-Le Bourget and Gap from 1973 to 1977, since abandoned. The vast majority of air movements are sports-oriented.

Urban transport

Public transport in the city is provided by the Linea network. In 2016, the network is comprised 12 lines. There is also a school transport service, a shuttle between /Centre-ville/Gap-Bayard runs in July and August, a shuttle to the hyper-Centre and a taxibus is available on demand. Aside from the taxibus, all of these are totally free services for users.

Cycling facilities

Several cycle paths traverse the city. Some are separate from the road network, others are cycle lanes alongside roads.

Urbanism

Housing

Of the 21,479 houses in Gap in 2011, 88% were principal residences, and 8.50% were vacant. Two-thirds of them are apartments. A majority of these houses consist of 4 rooms or 5 rooms. Overall, the buildings date from the period between 1946-1990. Half of the inhabitants of principal residences are owners, the share of social rental housing represents only 15%.

Amenity projects

The first attestation of the name of the city is located in the ancient texts as Vappincum, later reduced to Vappum, the form of Gap is found in the 13th century.
The toponym Vappincum is analyzed on the basis of a radical Vapp- unknown meaning, and the suffix -incu of Ligurian origin found in Provence and the Massif central to the Alps. The Gap form actually began as the short form Vappum, well attested, by the final drop.
The v- has been radically treated as a w- Germanic, where *Wap, then Gap. This phonetic evolution would be more specifically made under the influence of the Gothic language.
The name in Provençal is also Gap.

History

Prehistory

The first settlement of Gap dates back to the Neolithic. The culture of these first inhabitants belonged to the southern Chasséen.
Very rare testimonies of the pre-Roman era are formed by the remains of an oppidum located at the summit of the hill of Saint-Mens with few visible traces of a dolmen uncovered in 1866 and an ancient cemetery in the hamlet of Pré Camargue; but no remains were kept of these last two findings. Gallic money was also found. Gap was the capital of the Celto-Ligurian tribe. These peoples, probably belonging to the Caturiges tribe, spoke the Celtic language.

The Roman period

The was then part of the territory of the Vocontii, a Gallic people who were Romanised during the conquest of Gallia Narbonensis in 125-124 BC, and whose capitals were Luc-en-Diois and Vaison.
Around 20 BC, Cottius, a leader of tribes of the Valley of Suze, allied to Rome, and urged by Augustus, undertook the building of a route of communication in the Valley of the Durance. He had get the submission of the peoples of the area who were eager to maintain their independence. This route, built between 14 and 6 BC, and which received the name of Via Cottia per Alpem, linked Turin to Sisteron and consisted of six stations. Then known as Vapincum, the town of Gap was founded from one of these stations. In 22 AD, Gap became the start of a Roman road to Valence.
At this time, the location of the future city was a Roman camp. The camp was protected by a terraced wall surrounded by a ditch. It was the largest between Montgenèvre and Sisteron. The garrison that occupied it could be estimated at 360 men. They came from the surrounding peoples. They were assigned to protect users of the Roman roads against brigands. Later, an axis towards the was created. The Gap site took importance by becoming a hub of communications.
The economy was mainly pastoral and the first crops grew on the slopes of Puymaure. Some houses were built on stilts as shown by excavations.
During the first centuries, the population increased significantly. Towards the end of the 3rd century and 4th century, fortifications were built to protect the central core of the town. Ramparts,. These which completely surrounded the enclosure with walls and eleven towers. invasions. With an enclosed area of the center of the town formed a big village.

Middle Ages

From 28 December 986, the Bishop of Gap had sovereign rights over the city due to concerns about future Muslim invasions. The bishops kept this power until Revolutionary reforms in 1801 despite Gap being annexed by the French crown in 1512.
Gap and its area became part of the County of Provence which was established at the end of the 10th century. The County of Forcalquier was separated in the 12th century. Although the bishops of Gap were the temporal lords of the city their control was long disputed by officers of the Counts of Forcalquier notably during the episcopacy of Arnoux who later became the bishop of the city. On the death of the last Count of Forcalquier in 1209, the Embrun and Gap areas were passed to the Dauphiné while those of Forcalquier and Sisteron returned to the County of Provence. It is for this reason that the current coat of arms of the Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is the coat of arms of the Dauphiné. In 1349 the Dauphin of Viennois Humbert II passed on his Principality to the eldest son of Philippe VI of France, the future King of France Charles V. From 1349 to 1457 Dauphiné remained a Principality separated from France, whose prince was the eldest son of the King of France. In 1457, Charles VII put an end to this status and joined the province to the Kingdom of France.
The Knights Templar owned a house at Gap, a secondary establishment which depended on a. The creation of the, which ruled the city, dated back to before 1209.
In the 14th century, the city took advantage of the benefits of the installation of the Popes in Avignon, which brought a more frequent passage of travellers to develop a craft of wool and skins, which made it thrive. Avignon linkages were strengthened by the presence of many clerics of the entourage of the Pope, within the chapter of the canons of Gap.

Renaissance and early modern era

The 16th and 17th centuries were particularly dark times for the city. The Wars of Religion were lethal in the region. Gap was a Catholic stronghold, while the switched to Protestantism. After various skirmishes, François de Bonne, leader of the Protestants, decided to attack Gap, nevertheless protected by 20 towers. On the night of 3 January 1577, François Philibert, known as Cadet de Charance, opened the Saint-Arey gate, and allowed him to attack the city by surprise. To cries of "Kill! Kill!" his men proceeded in veritable butchery. De Bonne burned the cathedral, plundered the monasteries, appropriated the property of the inhabitants, and built a proud citadel on the Colline de Puymaure where it dominated over Gap. Returned to Catholicism in 1622, he abandoned all claims to the city.
In 1692, the troops of the ruler Victor Amadeus II, committed with the League of Augsburg, against the France of Louis XIV, captured the city, abandoned by its inhabitants, on 29 August. Gap was looted and burned, of the 953 houses in the commune, 798 were destroyed.
In 1790, during the French Revolution, the province of Dauphiné was divided into three departments: Drôme, Isère and Hautes-Alpes which Gap became the prefecture. Hautes-Alpes then became the highest Department of France and Gap, the highest prefecture of the country. It remains prefecture of Haute-Alpes to this day.

19th century

In 1802, the baron was appointed. Under his administration, the city of Gap and the Department of the Hautes-Alpes experienced some growth. It built roads linking Gap to Italy and the Drôme Valley and created a departmental nursery. His statue, carved by the Gap sculptor Jean Marcellin, was erected in 1866 at the square which bears his name.
Napoleon I left Elba in February 1815 and stopped at Gap on 5 March 1815 with 40 horsemen and 10 grenadiers, where he had thousands of copies of his Proclamations printed. The whole population of the city accompanied Napoleon when he left Gap. Acknowledging the reception of the population of these regions, he left the Haut-Alpins with the following message:
Gap experienced a new era from 1875 with the arrival of the railway.
The commune of Chaudun was joined with Gap, by the prefectoral Decree of 22 October 1895.

20th century

Second World War

During World War II, the city was part of the free zone. But after November 1942 and the Case Anton, it was integrated into the occupied area. After Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944, the Germans placed some 1,000 men to hold the cuvette de Gap , a key point of the Cannes-Lyon axis., 37 years old, an original Gaullist resistant and accomplished soldier was sent by the GPRF of General de Gaulle to liberate the city on behalf of the Resistance. Aided by local guerrillas and resistance, he has however no way to take the city by force. He then started with his men in a campaign of sabotage and bombings that lasted more than a month. After having isolated the city by destroying the infrastructure surrounding it, the FFI had managed to rally the population and give the occupiers an impression of encirclement.
A mid-August 1944, Drouot-L'Hermine, who lost his right-hand man,, a few days earlier, sent two emissaries to negotiate the surrender of the Germans. The Germans were convinced of facing a large-scale uprising, and agreed to lay down their weapons provided that it was to regular troops. While the Americans were more than away, time was pressing for Drouot-L'Hermine. Indeed, he received an order from De Gaulle to liberate the city before the arrival of the Allies, to support the position of France as a victorious nation, liberated through the active participation of the Resistance. Drouot-L'Ermine then developed a new ploy. He managed to convince the Allies to advance one of their tanks into enemy terrain, and shoot a few rounds close to Gap. Shots echoed in the valley, and the Germans immediately identified the characteristic sound of a tank, a weapon that the guerrillas did not hold. Thinking they were then dealing with the Allies, the troops of the Reich surrendered to the Resistance. Therefore, a few hundred resistance fighters were able to capture 1,200 German soldiers, including 40 officers. The city was liberated on the evening of 19 August 1944.

Fifth Republic

The commune of Romette was associated with that of Gap, by decree dated 25 November 1974.
Gap ran a bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, but lost out as France's candidate to nearby Annecy. The games were eventually awarded to Pyeongchang in South Korea.

Politics and administration

Political trends and outcomes

The outgoing mayor, Roger Didier, was a representative in the municipal elections of 2014 and was re-elected at the end of the second round with 53.37% of votes. The turnout was 57.41%.

Municipal administration

The City Council consists of 43 members, including 20 who are elected by the community council.

PartyListChaired bySeatsStatus
DVGGap @venir 2014 Bernard Jaussaud6 opposition
FGTous capables G.A.U.C.H.E. Jean-Claude Eyraud2 opposition
DVGBien Vivre A Gap Guy Blanc1opposition
DVDGap Devant Roger Didier34 majority

List of mayors


StartEndNamePartyOther details
19441947Robert Bidault
19471971Radical PartyMP and Senator of Hautes-Alpes
March 1971March 1989Bernard GivaudanDVD
March 1989February 2007Pierre Bernard-ReymondUDF-CDS then UMPRegional Councillor Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Senator
February 2007In progressRoger DidierPRG then DVD then UDIGeneral Counsel of Hautes-Alpes



StartEndNamePartyOther details
1816Before 1830
...
18711878Pierre Jules Tanc
18781896Lawyer, MP of Haute-Alpes
18961900Auguste Tourres
19001904Joseph Faure
19041906Albert Martin
19061908Férréol Jean
19081919Banker
19191924Louis Berne
19241925Adrien Fabre
19251927Jean Eymar
19271928Victor Provensal
19281929Paul Serres
19 May 192525 November 1940SFIOPrinter, General Counsel of Barcelonnette, MP

Intercommunity

Since 1 January 2014, Gap is part of the with the municipalities of La Freissinouse and Pelleautier.

Administrative divisions

Until the departmental elections of March 2015, Gap was divided into six cantons: Gap-Campagne, Gap-Centre, Gap-Nord-Est, Gap-Nord-Ouest, Gap-Sud-Est and Gap-Sud-Ouest.
Since the of the Hautes-Alpes Department, Gap is divided into four cantons.

Judicial and administrative proceedings

Gap has the presence of a high court.

Environmental policy

Gap is classified as three flowers in the competition of flowery cities and villages.

International relations

Twinning

Gap is twinned with a couple of European cities. It is in this framework that socio-cultural, educational and sports exchanges are made.
In addition, decentralised cooperation agreements have been signed with a couple of cities in Africa and Asia.

Demographics

Demographic change

In 2012, the commune had 40,761 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, a census for communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants takes place every year as a result of a sample survey, unlike the other communes which have a real census every five years.

Age structure

The population of the commune is relatively old. The proportion of people over 60 years of age is higher than the national proportion but is lower than the proportion in the Hautes-Alpes department as a whole.
As in the national and departmental populations, the female population of the commune is greater than the male population. The rate is similar to the national rate. In 2007, the distribution of the population of the commune, by age group, is as follows:
Gap is situated in the.

Schools

The city administers 12, 13 and 6 rural schools. There are also several private kindergartens and elementary schools.
The Department manages five and four lycées of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, the Lycée professionnel Paul-Hariharan, the school of general and farm technology education "Les Emeyères", the Dominique-Villars Lycée and the Aristide-Briand Lycée.
There are also two private schools, the Lycée professionnel Sévigné and Lycée Saint-Joseph. That said, the Lycée professionnel Sévigné is now public.

Higher education

Higher education in Gap is represented by the Pôle University of Gap, an annex of the former University of the Mediterranean Aix-Marseille II, today the Aix-Marseille University, created from the merger of three universities. It includes a centre, a Business Administration and Management IUT, a "Mountain crafts" which is unique in France, as well as being able to give an aircraft maintenance licence (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region is a in Aeronautics, and the Department has established the Centre of Rural Excellence Excell'Air.
Several BTS chains and preparatory classes exist in the lycées, in particular a Computer Services in Organisations BTS and a Negotiations and Customer Service BTS at the Lycée Dominique Villars as well as an Assistant Manager BTS at the Lycée Aristide Briand.

Cultural events and festivities

During the summer months, the association of merchants of the town centre Les Vitrines de Gap organises Nocturnes. These are musical and festive events accompanied by the opening of stores downtown from 7pm until 11pm. Each year an Expo Fair also takes place at the Parc de la Pépinnière during May.
The Quattro, a theatre with retractable tiered seating, organises all kinds of events, namely concerts, performances, business seminars, etc.

Health

The city has a hospital, the Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal of Alpes du Sud which is divided into three entities. The first and most important site is Gap, which is the largest hospital of the Southern Alps. Gap is also equipped with a site specialising in geriatrics. As a result of a merger, the CHICAS manages the site of Sisteron. The Polyclinic of the Southern Alps is the only clinic present in the city and other centres of rehabilitation.
There is also a Maison Médicale du Gapençais with extended opening hours.

Sports

Clubs:
The town of Gap regularly hosts stages of the Tour de France and the Critérium du Dauphiné in cycling, as well as the Monte Carlo Rally in motorsport.
The town of Gap is known for its mountain bike trek the Paths of the Sun, between Saillans and Gap.
The sports facilities in Gap include stadiums, gymnasiums, swimming pools, ice rink, multi-purpose room, and tennis courts.
The fitness centre Gap-Bayard, located on the Bayard plateau, has an 18-hole golf course that operates in summer and is a base for cross-country skiing in winter.
In October 2004, the association Objective JO 2018 worked for a French candidacy of the, at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The town of Gap was approached to run in the race. Gap withdrew in October 2008 and was replaced by the municipality of Pelvoux and the.
In 2009, the town of Gap won the competition of the Intervilles sports show during the final against Dax.
The town of Gap hosted the final of the amateurs during the autumn of 2012.
In 2013, the town of Gap was elected the sportiest city of more of 20,000 inhabitants in France by L'Équipe newspaper.

Media

Catholic

Cathedral and churches

Revenues of the population and taxation

Revenues

The median pay in Gap in 2011 is 18,944 euros. The majority of revenues are derived from wage work, compared to a third of retirees.

Taxation

In 2011, 18,345 households existed in Gap, 60% of them were taxable.

Industry

The has grown through the inclusion of winter sports.

Tertiary sector

The tertiary sector is the sector which dominates the local economy:
Gap is the seat of the. It manages the centre for regional and European tourism of Briançon, the of Gap and the Centre Européen Médical Bioclimatique de Recherche et d'Enseignement Universitaire of Briançon.

Local culture and heritage

Places and monuments

The Château de Charance was built in the 16th century. It includes a main building, which today is the headquarters of the Écrins National Park, and several annexes, one of which houses the Park Museum.
The Charance Estate also features the Conservatoire botanique national alpin , a terraced garden and an area of around the château and in the middle of which lies a small lake: Charance Lake. All overlooks the city.

Cultural heritage

Military units have been stationed at Gap:
4th Mountain Infantry Battalion since 1983.

Personalities linked to the commune

Below is a non-exhaustive list of people born in Gap or having a particular attachment to the city: