Le Boulou (; ) is a commune in the

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ; ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spain, Spanish ...

department in southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is situated 12 km from the Spanish border.

Geography

Localisation

The town of Le Boulou is located in the

canton of Vallespir-Albères The Canton of Vallespir-Albères is a French canton of Pyrénées-Orientales department, in Occitanie. At the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015, the canton was created including 8 communes from the canton of Céret ...

and in the

arrondissement of Céret The arrondissement of Céret is an arrondissement of France in the Pyrénées-Orientales department ( Northern Catalonia) in the Occitanie region. It has 64 communes. Its population is 134,629 (2021), and its area is . Composition The commune ...

, in the south of

Toponymy

The name of the town in catalan is ''El Voló''.

History

In the 10th century, the territory of Le Boulou appears to be shared between the lord of Saint-Jean-Pla-de-Corts, lady Minimilla, and the church of

Elne Elne (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It lies in the former province of Roussillon, of which it was the first capital, being later replaced by Perpignan. Its inhabitants are still called ''Illibéri ...

. Le Boulou is then ruled by the lords of

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal so ...

from the 11th to the 14th centuries. It finally becomes part of the crown lands. At the end of the 17th century, Bernard de Kennedy, following the court of

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

in France, decides to settle in Le Boulou and receives French citizenship from

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. His grandson, Côme de Kennedy, is granted a title of lord of Le Boulou in 1755. Côme's son, Joseph de Kennedy is the running lord during the French Revolution. But his house is used as a headquarter by the Spanish general

Antonio Ricardos Antonio Ricardos Carrillo de Albornoz (1727 in Barbastro – 13 March 1794) was a Spanish general. He joined the army of the Kingdom of Spain and fought against Habsburg Austria, the Portugal, and the First French Republic during a long milit ...

during the first battle of Boulou in 1793. Accused of betrayal, Joseph de Kennedy is sent to the

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

on 2 May 1794, on the next day after the

second battle of Boulou The Second Battle of Boulou (29 April to 1 May 1794) took place during the War of the Pyrenees, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. This battle saw the French Army of the Eastern Pyrenees led by General of Division (GD) Jacques François D ...

. In the 20th century Le Boulou was the site of a camp housing female Republican escapees from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

at the end of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. It was opened as a clearing centre, but there was no shelter and most of the women and children were removed to other parts of France, along with some wounded soldiers. During the German occupation the spa at Le Boulou was a

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

headquarters. Le Boulou Ancienne Mairie.jpg, Old town Hall (1912) Boulou sainte marie1.jpg, Church Sainte-Marie

Geography

Localisation

Toponymy

History

Government and politics

Mayors

Population

Culture

See also

References