Auvergnat
or (endonym: ) is a northern dialect of Occitan spoken in central and southern France, in particular in the former administrative region of Auvergne.
Currently, research shows that there is not really a true Auvergnat dialect but rather a vas ...
: ''Comentriac'') is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Allier
Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...
in central
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. It lies 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 Yvonne Rozille, ''née'' Marie-Yvonne Gilberte Rouzille (5 January 1900, Commentry – 1 December 1985, Grasse) was a French film actress.
In 1937, she married Georges Gaillard, honorary prefect and codirector of the Théâtre du Vaudeville, founde ...
(1900–1985) was born in Commentry.
Population
History
Commentry was home to Compagnie de Commentry-Fourchambault-Decazeville, thanks to an important coal deposit. The coal mine fueled a huge growth in population, from under 1,000 to more than 12,000, while Stéphane Mony was its CEO (1840–1884).
Commentry was the first commune ever to elect a socialist mayor:
Christophe Thivrier
Christophe Thivrier (16 May 1841 – 8 August 1895) was a French politician of working class origins who was the first Socialist mayor in France, and deputy of Allier from 1889 to 1895.
At this time the industrialists of France were using dismiss ...
was elected 6 June 1882. The
Socialist Party of France
The Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste , PS) is a French centre-left and social-democratic political party. It holds pro-European views.
The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major p ...
was founded in Commentry in September 1902.
Economy
Commentry gave its name to a coal field over 21 square kilometres in extent, and historically had important foundries and forges.
Meganeura
''Meganeura'' is a genus of extinct insects from the Late Carboniferous (approximately 300 million years ago). They resembled and are related to the present-day dragonflies and damselflies, and were predatory, with their diet mainly consisting o ...
coal measures
In lithostratigraphy, the coal measures are the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. In the United Kingdom, the Coal Measures Group consists of the Upper Coal Measures Formation, the Middle Coal Measures Formation and the Lower Coal ...
in 1880.
Personalities
*
Jean Bayet
Jean Bayet (12 November 1892 – 5 December 1969) was a French Latinist. A Professor of Latin Language and Literature at the Sorbonne, he was Director-General of Education in 1944 and Director of the École française de Rome from 1952 to 1960. I ...
(1882–1969) Professor of Latin Language and Literature at the Sorbonne, whose grandfather Gilbert Bayet was mayor of Commentry 1871–1873.
*
Henri Fayol
Henri Fayol (29 July 1841 – 19 November 1925) was a French mining engineer, mining executive, author and director of mines who developed a general theory of business administration that is often called Fayolism.Morgen Witzel (2003). ''Fifty key ...
(1841–1925) mining engineer, developed
Fayolism
Fayolism was a theory of management that analyzed and synthesized the role of management in organizations, developed around 1900 by the French manager and management theorist Henri Fayol (1841–1925). It was through Fayol's work as a philosophe ...
, an approach to management and administration.
*
Abel Gance
Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J ...
(1889–1981) film director and producer, raised by maternal grandparents in Commentry until the age of eight.
*
Jacques Hillairet
Auguste André Coussillan (31 July 1886 – 15 April 1984) was a French historian specialising in the history of Paris. Under the pen-name Jacques Hillairet he wrote two major reference works on the subject in the 1950s - ''Connaissance du vieux ...
(1886-1984) historian specializing in the history of Paris, officer of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
.
*
Émile Mâle
Émile Mâle (; 2 June 1862 – 6 October 1954) was a French art historian, one of the first to study medieval, mostly sacral French art and the influence of Eastern European iconography thereon. He was a member of the Académie française, and a ...
(1862–1954) art historian and member of the
Académie française
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
.
* Stéphane Mony (1800–1884) Engineer, director of the colliery at Commentry; mayor from 1854 to 1883; deputy from 1868 to 1871.
*
Christophe Thivrier
Christophe Thivrier (16 May 1841 – 8 August 1895) was a French politician of working class origins who was the first Socialist mayor in France, and deputy of Allier from 1889 to 1895.
At this time the industrialists of France were using dismiss ...
(1841–1895) first elected Socialist mayor in France.
*
Roger Vergé
Roger Vergé (, 7 April 1930 – 5 June 2015) was a French chef and restaurateur. He is considered one of the greatest chefs of his time. The Gault Millau described him as "the very incarnation of the great French chef for foreigners".
Personal ...