Sète (; oc, Seta, ), also historically spelt ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', 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

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.department, in the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...

, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises'' (female) in French, "Setòris" and "Setòria" in Occitan. Known as the ''Venice of Languedoc'' and the ''singular island'' (in

Paul Valéry Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, mus ...

's words), it is a port and a seaside resort on the Mediterranean with its own very strong cultural identity, traditions, cuisine and dialect. It is the hometown of such artists as Paul Valéry,

Jean Vilar Jean Vilar (25 March 1912– 28 May 1971) was a French actor and theatre director. Vilar trained under actor and theatre director Charles Dullin, then toured with an acting company throughout France. His directorial career began in 1943 in a sma ...

Georges Brassens Georges Charles Brassens (; 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. As an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his elegant songs with their harmonically complex music for voice and guitar and a ...

, Hervé Di Rosa,

Manitas de Plata Ricardo Baliardo (7 August 1921 – 5 November 2014), better known as Manitas de Plata, was a flamenco guitarist of Spanish Gitano descent born in southern France. Despite achieving worldwide fame, he was criticized for not following certain rh ...

, and Robert Combas. Since 2001, François Commeinhes is the mayor of the city.

Geography

Built upon and around Mont St Clair, Sète is situated on the south-eastern end of the

Étang de Thau The Étang de Thau (; oc, Estanh de Taur) or Bassin de Thau is the largest of a string of lagoons (''étangs'') that stretch along the French coast from the Rhône river to the foothills of the Pyrenees and the border to Spain in the Languedoc-R ...

, an enclosed salt water lake used primarily for

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

and

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

fields. To its other side lies the Mediterranean, and the town has a network of canals which are links between the Étang de Thau and the Mediterranean Sea.

Climate

Sète has a

mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Csa''). The average annual temperature in Sète is . The average annual rainfall is with October as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Sète was on 12 August 1923; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 10 February 1956.

History

The name first appeared in

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

(Geography II.10.2.): Σήτιον ὄρος, later in

Avienius Postumius Rufius Festus Avienius (sometimes erroneously Avienus) was a Latin writer of the 4th century AD. He was a native of Volsinii in Etruria, from the distinguished family of the Rufii Festi. Avienius is not identical with the historian ...

' (Ora Maritima): Setius... mons and on the maps of

Aniane Aniane (; oc, Aniana) is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Population See also * Benedict of Aniane * Pont du Diable, Hérault * Mas de Daumas Gassac *Communes of the Hérault department The ...

: fiscum..qui nuncupatur Sita During the 11th century

Catharism Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follow ...

appeared in the

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

region.

1600–1900

On 29 July 1666, the first stone was officially set on the Saint-Louis pier. In 1681 the Canal du Midi was completed. In 1684, Vauban visited the port. In 1703, Saint-Louis church was consecrated. From 24 to 26 July 1710, during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

the British attacked Sète, soon fought back by the

Adrien Maurice de Noailles Adrien is a given name and surname, and the French spelling for the name Adrian. It is also the masculine form of the feminine name Adrienne. It may refer to: People Given name * Adrien Auzout (1622–1691), French astronomer * Adrien Baillet ...

Duke of Noailles. In 1710–1711, Saint-Pierre and Butte-Ronde forts were built. In 1724, the townhouse was bought. In 1744, the Richelieu citadel and the Castellas tower were built.

19th century

Between 1807–1809 the British tried to burn the town. On 21 May 1821, the first stone of the breakwater was set (finished in 1869). On 9 June 1839 the

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

-Sète railway was opened. On 6 May 1872 the chamber of commerce was established. Between 1882–1888 construction works on the port took place. On 24 June 1894

Sante Geronimo Caserio Sante Geronimo Caserio (; 8 September 187316 August 1894) was an Italian anarchist and the assassin of Marie François Sadi Carnot, President of the French Third Republic. Caserio was born in Motta Visconti, Lombardy. On 24 June 1894, he fatally ...

, an Italian anarchist from

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

and apprentice baker in Sète stabbed to death president Sadi Carnot in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. In 1895, the boys' high school, later renamed the Lycée Paul Valéry was opened.

20th century

In 1901 an electric tramway network was built (used until 1935). In 1902, the Nelson family opened Chateau Nelson. On 20 January 1928, the name of the town changed from Cette to Sète. In 1934, FC Sète 34 won the

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

and

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

and became the first football club to win both the same year. On 23 May 1939: the SS ''Sinaia'' leaves the port with

Spanish Republican The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...

s seeking asylum in

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, to a working-class family, Cárdenas joined the M ...

's Mexico. On 12 November 1942: the town is occupied by the German troops of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

. On 25 June 1944 Sète railway station,

Balaruc-les-Bains Balaruc-les-Bains (; oc, Los Banhs de Balaruc) is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Hérault department * Balaruc *Étang de Thau The Étang de Thau ( ...

's and

Frontignan Frontignan (; ) is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. Frontignan is renowned for its AOC wine, the Muscat de Frontignan, a sweet wine made solely from the Muscat grape variety. Geography Frontignan is located in the ...

's oil refineries were bombarded by the American 15th Air Force. On 20 August 1944 Sète was liberated. On 11 July 1947, the

packet Packet may refer to: * A small container or pouch ** Packet (container), a small single use container ** Cigarette packet ** Sugar packet * Network packet, a formatted unit of data carried by a packet-mode computer network * Packet radio, a fo ...

steamship SS President Warfield leaves for Palestine with 4 530 Jews who survived the

Shoah The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ar ...

. The port official M. Leboutet had authorised captain Ike Aronowicz to sail to Colombia and, after 5 days on the Atlantic Ocean, the ship took the name

SS Exodus ''Exodus 1947'' was a packet steamship that was built in the United States in 1928 as ''President Warfield'' for the Baltimore Steam Packet Company. From her completion in 1928 until 1942 she carried passengers and freight across Chesapeake Bay b ...

and changed direction towards Palestine. from the coast, they were stopped by 5 British

torpedo boats A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...

. 75 passengers accepted asylum in France, while the others were brought to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

via

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. In 1960, the Théâtre de la Mer was built. In 1962, the technical college Joliot-Curie was opened. In 1966–1978 major construction works on the port took place. In 1970, the Museum Paul Valéry was opened. From 1981–1984, a new public hospital was built. On 31 October 1991, the espace

, a museum dedicated to the singer, opened.

21st century

In 2004, a plan to preserve the ''Lido'' and prevent further coastal damage was made. In 2005 a new neighbourhood called ''Villeroy'' was created. In 2006 the "espace Georges Brassens" was renovated. In January 2007, the

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and b ...

manages the port of Sète. In 2014, une ville humanitaire, saw the creation of "les Anges de la Rue". In 2016, a great wine spill occurred at the Nelson Château.

Population

Patron saint

In 1703, when the Saint-Louis church was consecrated,

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

, patron of the port, also became the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the town. He has been celebrated every year on 25 August, with canal jousting competitions, music and fireworks, except during wartime.

Transport

Sète is the eastern starting point of the Canal du Midi, and the ending point of the

Canal du Rhône à Sète The Canal du Rhône à Sète (lit. "canal from the Rhône to Sète") is a canal in southern France, which connects the Étang de Thau in Sète to the Rhône River in Beaucaire, Gard. The canal is made up of two previously constructed canals, the ...

. Its train station Gare de Sète is approximately 15 minutes by train from

, and is also served by long-distance trains to Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille and Paris. Car ferries sail between Sète and Morocco.

Culture

Sète is a centre of

water jousting Water jousting is a form of jousting where the adversaries, carrying a lance and protected only by a shield, stand on a platform on the stern of a boat. The aim of the sport is to send the adversary into the water whilst maintaining one's own ba ...

, and hosts a major tournament during the town festival, the St-Louis. Paul Valéry's poem ''Le Cimetière Marin'', depicts the graveyard above Sète's harbour. Valéry is buried in the graveyard, and the nearby Paul Valéry Museum contains a collection of his drawings and manuscripts. ''Espace Georges-Brassens'' is a museum dedicated to the Sétois singer-songwriter.

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 first film, ''

La Pointe Courte ''La Pointe Courte'' is a 1955 French drama film directed by Agnès Varda (in her feature film directorial debut). It has been cited by many critics as a forerunner of the French New Wave,Kirshner, J. (2021). An Artist in Her Own Right: The Cinema ...

'', was filmed in the environs of Sète. Director

Abdellatif Kechiche Abdellatif Kechiche (; ar, عبد اللطيف كشيش, born 7 December 1960) is a Tunisian- French actor, film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut in 2000 with '' La Faute à Voltaire'', which he also wrote. Known for his ...

set his film 2007 '' The Secret of the Grain'', '' Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno'' (2017) and '' Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo'' (2019) in Sète.

De vrais mensonges ''De vrais mensonges'' is a 2010 French comedy-romance film starring Audrey Tautou and directed by Pierre Salvadori. The screenplay was written by Salvadori and Benoît Graffin. It was distributed in English-speaking countries under the titles ...

(Beautiful Lies) is a 2010 French comedy-romance film, set in the town, starring Audrey Tautou and directed by

Pierre Salvadori Pierre Salvadori (born 8 November 1964) is a French film director from Santo-Pietro-di-Venaco, known for works on romantic comedies such as '' Hors de prix'' (2006). Life and career In 1989 Salvadori wrote his first screenplay, which would then ...

Notable people

Sète was the birthplace of: * David Serene (born 1970), footballer and veterinarian *

(1871–1945), author and poet of the Symbolist school *

Paul-Marie Masson Paul-Marie Masson (9 September 1882 – 27 January 1954) was a French musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study o ...

(1882–1954), composer and musicologist *

(1912–1971), actor and creator of the

Avignon theatre festival Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had a ...

(1921–1981), singer and songwriter *

(1921–2014), flamenco guitarist * Gilbert Py (born 1933), Opera

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

Ives Roqueta Ives Roqueta (; born 29 February 1936 in Sète, Hérault, died January 4, 2015) was an Occitan author. He played a major role in the country's political and cultural movement. He was the president of the IEO for a number of years and his brother J ...

(born 1933), writer and occitan activist * Alain de Pouzilhac (born 1945), CEO of

France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned international news television network based in Paris. Its channels broadcast in French, English, Arabic, and Spanish and are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-M ...

and former president of

France Médias Monde France Médias Monde is a French state-owned holding company which supervises and co-ordinates the activities of the major public media organizations broadcasting or publishing internationally from France. The company's subsidiaries are the rad ...

* Simon Sutour (born 1952), Senator of the department

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Robert Combas (born 1957), sculptor and painter * Hervé Di Rosa (born 1959), painter and sculptor * David Darmon (born 1975), footballer * Mathieu Peisson (born 1982), water polo player and Olympian at the 2016 Summer Olympics * Frédéric Sessa (born 1985), free-diver *

Fidji Simo Fidji Simo (born 5 October 1985) is a French businessperson and the CEO of Instacart. Prior to taking that position, she was head of the Facebook app at Facebook, and Vice President of Video, Games, and Monetization. She co-founded and is curren ...

(born 1985), managing director Instacart

International relations

Sète is twinned with: *

Neuburg an der Donau Neuburg an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Neiburg an da Donau'') is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany. Divisions The municipality has 16 divisions: * Altmannstetten * Bergen, Neu ...

, Germany, since 1986 *

El Jadida El Jadida (, ; originally known in Berber as Maziɣen or Mazighen; known in Portuguese as Mazagão) is a major port city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, located 96 km south of the city of Casablanca, in the province of El Jadida and the re ...

, Morocco, since 1992 *

Cetara Cetera or cetara is a plucked string instrument played in Corsica. It has sixteen, or sometimes eighteen, metal strings, running in paired courses, with a body similar to the mandolin, but larger, and is plucked with a plectrum made of horn o ...

, Italy, since 2003

Gallery

File:Phare du Mont-Saint-Clair, Sète, Hérault 05.jpg, Lighthouse of the Mount Saint-Clair File:Théatre de la Mer à Sète.jpg, Théatre de la Mer. File:Fort Richelieu, Sète, Hérault 03.jpg, Fort Richelieu. File:Quai Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, Sète 02.jpg, Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny Embankment. File:Dawn on Sète and the Étang de Thau.jpg, Sète and the Étang de Thau. File:Pont du Tivoli, Sète, Hérault 16.jpg, Tivoli Bridge over one of the canals of the town. File:Crique de l'Anau, Sète, Hérault 01.jpg, Crique de l'Anau, a cove in the Mediterranean Sea. File:Canal de la Peyrade, Sète, Hérault 01.jpg, Canal de la Peyrade File:Virla bridge 04.jpg File:Tournoi joutes 05.jpg File:Tournoi joutes 03.jpg File:Tournoi joutes 04.jpg File:Tournoi joutes 01.jpg File:Tournoi joutes.jpg File:Rond point Paul Valéry 01.jpg File:Rond point Paul Valéry 02.jpg File:Rond point Paul Valéry.jpg File:L’église décanale Saint-Louis.jpg File:Place public.jpg File:Escalier à séte.jpg File:Parc Simone Veil.jpg File:Parc Simone Veil.jpg File:Fontain de poulpe.jpg File:Virla bridge 01.jpg File:Place Aristide Briand.jpg File:Place Aristide Briand 01.jpg File:Virla Bridge.jpg File:Théâtre Molière Sète.jpg File:Art urbain Sète France 01.jpg File:Art urbain Sète France.jpg