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Le Mas
Le Mas
Commune
	A general view of the village
	Coat of arms
	Location of Le Mas
	Le Mas Le Mas
	Coordinates: 43°50′38″N 6°51′33″E / 43.8439°N 6.8592°E
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Alpes-Maritimes
Arrondissement	Grasse
Canton	Grasse-1
Intercommunality	CA Pays de Grasse
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Ludovic Sanchez
Area 1	32.15 km2 (12.41 sq mi)
Population (2021)	99
• Density	3.1/km2 (8.0/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	06081 /06910
Elevation	440–1,689 m (1,444–5,541 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Le Mas (Occitan: Lo Mas) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of South-eastern France.

Geography

Le Mas is located some 45 km north-west of Nice and 32 km east of Castellane in a direct line. Access to the commune is by road D10 which branches from the D5 road on the western border of the commune and passes through the length of the commune through the village before continuing to Aiglun in the east. The D110 branches from the D10 in the west of the commune and passes along the river valley to rejoin the D10 east of the village. The commune is alpine in nature with high mountains and alpine valleys throughout.

The Gironde river flows through the commune from west to east to join the Estéron which forms the eastern border of the commune as it flows south then east joining the Var at Saint-Martin-du-Var. Numerous tributaries feed the Gironde in the commune.

Neighbouring communes and villages

Source:^[3]

History

Isnard, from the House of Grasse, Commander of St. John of Jerusalem, Prior of Capua, Grand Seneschal of Provence, in recognition of his services received the lands of Mas and Aiglun from Queen Jeanne on 7 July 1348. He donated the land of Aiglun to his cousin Pons of Ferres on 18 May 1349. The fief of Mas passed down to Bertrand II de Grasse. The Grasse family lost the lordship of Mas at the time of the separation of Nice and it subsequently remained with the Counts of Provence.

In 1713 the Treaty of Utrecht provided that Ubaye and its dependencies, formerly under the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, were exchanged for the French areas in the Susa Valley so that the boundary followed the line of the watershed. But the overlapping of territories inherited from history remained: Entraunes and Saint-Martin-d'Entraunes were dependent on Barcelonnette but are in the Var valley while the Piedmontese side upstream of Guillaumes was already French. The Kingdoms of France and Piedmont both claimed them. In addition, in the Estéron Valley the right bank of the Var was Piedmontese which created a tongue of land jutting out into French Provence. In Haut-Var it was ultimately the line of the watershed which prevailed. To provide compensation to France and to reduce the irregularity of the border, the community of Mas was ceded to France in 1718.^[4]

For more historical information (in French) click here.

Heraldry

Arms of Le Mas	The official status of the blazon remains to be determined. Blazon: Azure, a house Argent posed on a hillock Vert; in chief parti per pale, at 1 Gules charged with a cross Argent, at 2 Azure charged with 3 fleurs-de-lis Or 2 and 1.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors^[5]

From	To	Name	Party
2001	2007 (died in office)	Marcel Rebuffel
2006	2008	Frédéric Castellano	DVD
2008	2020	Fabrice Lachenmaier	PRG
2020	incumbent	Ludovic Sanchez

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Massois, Massoises, or Massoinques in French.^[6]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1793	467	—
1800	446	−0.66%
1806	436	−0.38%
1821	460	+0.36%
1831	568	+2.13%
1836	496	−2.67%
1841	503	+0.28%
1846	512	+0.36%
1851	501	−0.43%
1856	430	−3.01%
1861	403	−1.29%
1866	405	+0.10%
1872	387	−0.75%
1876	362	−1.66%
1881	338	−1.36%
1886	344	+0.35%
1891	331	−0.77%
1896	298	−2.08%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1901	257	−2.92%
1906	202	−4.70%
1911	165	−3.97%
1921	130	−2.36%
1926	87	−7.72%
1931	67	−5.09%
1936	51	−5.31%
1946	55	+0.76%
1954	46	−2.21%
1962	41	−1.43%
1968	46	+1.94%
1975	25	−8.34%
1982	120	+25.12%
1990	108	−1.31%
1999	136	+2.59%
2007	129	−0.66%
2012	171	+5.80%
2017	155	−1.95%

Source: EHESS^[7] and INSEE^[8]

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The remains of a Chateau from the 11th century
A small classical chateau
A Mill to the south of the village
The Arboretum du Sarroudier

Religious heritage

The Church of Notre-Dame (12th century) is registered as an historical monument^[9] The Church contains two items that are registered as historical objects:

A Reliquary of Saint Arnoux (16th century)^[10]
A Bust-Reliquary of Saint Arnoux (16th century)^[11]

Other religious sites of interest

The Chapel of Saint Arnoux
The Chapel of the White Penitents (Now converted to a private residence)
The Chapel of Saint Sebastian (Now private)
The Hamlet of Sausses with the Chapel of Saint Sauveur and the Oratory of Saint Aman

Le Mas Photo Gallery

Le Mas Fountain
The Chapel of Saint-Arnoux
The Chapel of Saint-Arnoux interior
The old Chapel of the White Penitents
The Chapel of Saint Sebastian

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ Géoportail, IGN (in French)
^ Denis Andreis, "1713-1718: The high Var Valley at the heart of international litigation", At the heart of the Alps: Utrecht, symposium organised by the Museum of, the Eco-Museum of Roudoule, and the Sabença de la Valeia association, 14–16 September 2012. Proceedings published in 2013 (in French)
^ List of Mayors of France (in French)
^ Le nom des habitants du 06 - Alpes-Maritimes, habitants.fr
^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Le Mas, EHESS (in French).
^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00080759 Church of Notre-Dame (in French)
^ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM06000393 Reliquary of Saint Arnoux (in French)
^ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM06000392 Bust-Reliquary of Saint Arnoux (in French)