Commentry

Commentry (Auvergnat: Comentriac) is a commune in the department of Allier in central France. It lies 42 miles (68 km) southwest of Moulins in the valley of the Œil. It is within 8 km of one of the geographic centres of France. The film actress Yvonne Rozille (1900–1985) was born in Commentry.

Commentry
Commune
Town hall
Coat of arms
Location of Commentry
Commentry Show map of France Commentry Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 46°17′23″N 2°44′32″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Allier
Arrondissement	Montluçon
Canton	Commentry
Intercommunality	Commentry Montmarault Néris Communauté
Government
• Mayor (2017–2020)	Fernand Spaccaferri[1]
Area ^1	20.96 km^2 (8.09 sq mi)
Population  (2017-01-01)[2]	6,239
• Density	300/km^2 (770/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	03082 /03600
Elevation	332–462 m (1,089–1,516 ft) (avg. 385 m or 1,263 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1793	600	—
1800	498	−17.0%
1806	565	+13.5%
1821	601	+6.4%
1831	1,277	+112.5%
1836	1,126	−11.8%
1841	1,424	+26.5%
1846	3,015	+111.7%
1851	5,465	+81.3%
1856	8,484	+55.2%
1861	8,582	+1.2%
1866	9,978	+16.3%
1872	11,698	+17.2%
1876	12,978	+10.9%
1881	12,416	−4.3%
1886	12,515	+0.8%
1891	12,618	+0.8%
1896	12,632	+0.1%
1901	11,169	−11.6%
1906	10,205	−8.6%
1911	10,112	−0.9%
1921	10,256	+1.4%
1926	10,089	−1.6%
1931	10,136	+0.5%
1936	8,827	−12.9%
1946	9,119	+3.3%
1954	9,259	+1.5%
1962	9,711	+4.9%
1968	10,026	+3.2%
1975	10,043	+0.2%
1982	9,195	−8.4%
1990	8,021	−12.8%
1999	7,204	−10.2%
2006	6,857	−4.8%
2011	6,580	−4.0%

History

Commentry was the first commune ever to elect a socialist mayor: Christophe Thivrier was elected the 6th of June 1882.[3] The Socialist Party of France was founded in Commentry in September 1902.

Economy

Commentry gave its name to a coal field over 21 square kilometres in extent, and had important foundries and forges.

Science

Charles Brongniart discovered many fossils near Commentry, including Meganeura in the Stephanian stage coal measures in 1880.

Personalities

• Jean Bayet (1882-1969) Professor of Latin Language and Literature at the Sorbonne, whose grandfather Gilbert Bayet was mayor of Commentry 1871–1873.
• Henri Fayol (1841-1925) mining engineer, developed Fayolism, an approach to management and administration.
• Abel Gance (1889-1981) film director and producer, raised by maternal grandparents in Commentry until the age of eight.
• Jacques Hillairet (1886-1984) historian specializing in the history of Paris, officer of the Legion of Honour.
• Émile Mâle (1862-1954) art historian and member of the Académie française.
• Stéphane Mony (1800-1884) Engineer, director of the colliery at Commentry; mayor from 1854 to 1883; deputy from 1868 to 1871.
• Christophe Thivrier (1841-1895) first elected Socialist mayor in France.

See also

• Communes of the Allier department

References

• INSEE

1. "Liste nominative des communes de l'Allier" [Nominative list of communes of Allier] (PDF). maires-allier.fr (in French). Association of Mayors and Presidents of Communities of Allier. 28 November 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
2. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
3. (in French) Election of the first socialist mayor Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Commentry". Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 766.