Cournonterral (; oc, Cornonterralh) is a commune in the Hérault

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, ...

in southern France. Map commune FR insee code 34088

Population

Residents are known as ''Cournonterralais''.

Festival

The town is known for an annual festival known as ''Pailhasses''. The festival has taken place in Cournonterral every

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent (the six weeks of penitence before Easter). It is observed by Catholics in the Rom ...

since 1346. In that year, residents held off rivals from their neighbouring village of Aumelas

thus putting an end to a long dispute over gathering firewood. Since that time, Cournonterral residents have relived the event every year. The Paillasses (people in straw-stuffed tops) chase the "white men" through the streets of the town with old rags and tissue soaked in wine sediment. A fictionalized version of the Pailhasses is presented in

Agnès Varda Agnès Varda (; born Arlette Varda; 30 May 1928 – 29 March 2019) was a Belgian-born French film director, screenwriter, photographer, and artist. Her pioneering work was central to the development of the widely influential French New Wave film ...

's film "Vagabond".

Notable people from Cournonterral

* Robert Lassalvy, editorial cartoonist * Cédric Cambon, professional footballer

References

Communes of Hérault {{Hérault-geo-stub

Population

Festival

Notable people from Cournonterral

See also

References