Moulins, Allier

Moulins
Prefecture and commune
Views of Moulins
Coat of arms
Location of Moulins
Moulins Moulins
Coordinates: 46°33′55″N 3°20′00″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Allier
Arrondissement	Moulins
Canton	Moulins-1 and 2
Intercommunality	CA Moulins Communauté
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Pierre-André Périssol (LR)
Area 1	8.61 km2 (3.32 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	19,343
• Density	2,200/km2 (5,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	03190 /03000
Elevation	202–240 m (663–787 ft) (avg. 220 m or 720 ft)
Website	ville-moulins.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Moulins (French pronunciation: [mulɛ̃] ); is a commune in central France, capital of the Allier department. It is located on the river Allier.

Among its many tourist attractions are the Maison Mantin, the Anne de Beaujeu Museum, and The National Center of Costume and Scenography.

Geography

Moulins is located on the banks of the river Allier.

Moulins-sur-Allier station, in the centre of the town, has direct trains to Paris (Gare de Bercy), which take about 2 hours 25 minutes. The A79 motorway passes south of the town. Montbeugny Airport is a small airport located near Moulins.

History

Before the French Revolution, Moulins was the capital of the province of Bourbonnais and the seat of the Dukes of Bourbon. It appears in documented records at least as far back as the year 990. In 1232, Archambaud VIII, Sire de Bourbon granted a franchise to the village's inhabitants.

The town achieved greater prominence in 1327, when Charles IV elevated Louis I de Clermont to Duke of Bourbon. Either Louis or the later Peter II, Duke of Bourbon and of Auvergne moved the capital of the province from Bourbon-l'Archambault to Moulins.

Note: This article in French suggests Pierre II moved the capital, while the local tourism website (also in French) suggests it was Louis I.

In February 1566 it became eponymous to the Edict of Moulins, an important royal ordinance dealing with many aspects of the administration of justice and feudal and ecclesiastical privilege, including limitations on the appanages held by French princes, abrogation of the levy of rights of tallage claimed by seigneurs over their dependants, and provisions for a system of concessions on rivers.

This was the birthplace of the great 19th-century operatic baritone and art collector Jean-Baptiste Faure. In the 20th century, Coco Chanel went to school in Moulins as an orphan, before moving to Paris, where she became a fashion designer and major innovator in women's clothing.

Politics and administration

Territorial division

Moulins is the prefecture of Allier, even though it is not the most populated commune of the department.

Elections to municipal and intercommunal councils

Mayors of Moulins

See also: List of mayors of Moulins, Allier

The position of mayor has existed in Moulins since 1518. The current mayor is Pierre-André Périssol, in office since 1995 and last re-elected at the 2020 elections.

List of successive mayors of Moulins since the liberation of France

In office		Name	Party		Capacity	Ref.
August 1944	May 1945	Jean Dufloux
May 1945	October 1947	Henri Gromolard		CNR
October 1947	March 1959	Maurice Tinland
March 1959	1971	Jacques Pligot		RI
1971	1989	Hector Rolland		RPR	Deputy for Allier (1968–1981 & 1986–1988)
1989	25 June 1995	Paul Chauvat		DVD
25 June 1995	Incumbent	Pierre-André Périssol		RPR then UMP then LR	Minister of Housing (2002–2007)

Other elections

Election	1st round												2nd round
	1st		%	2nd		%	3rd		%	4th		%	1st		%	2nd		%	3rd		%
2014 - European		UMP	25.04		FN	21.53		PS	16.31		UDI	10.74	Single round election only.
2015 - Regional		UMP	38.14		PS	22.93		FN	20.52		PCF	7.90		UMP	44.77		PS-PCF-EELV	36.81		FN	18.42
2017 - Presidential		LREM	26.61		LR	21.15		LFI	19.94		FN	18.22		LREM	70.71		FN	29.29	No 3rd party.
2017 - Legislative		LR	29.79		LREM	28.61		PCF	17.28		FN	8.54		LREM	50.42		PCF	49.58	No 3rd party.
2019 - European		FN	22.71		LREM	21.77		LR	11.93		EELV	9.82	Single round election only.
2020 - Municipal		LR	45.89		DVD	29.70		PCF	21.83		LO	2.56		LR	48.14		DVD	30.82		PCF	21.03

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Moulins is twinned with:

• Bad Vilbel, Germany since 26 October 1990
• Montepulciano, Italy

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 13,249 —     1800 13,509 +0.28% 1806 14,101 +0.72% 1821 13,697 −0.19% 1831 14,672 +0.69% 1836 15,231 +0.75% 1841 15,377 +0.19% 1846 17,110 +2.16% 1851 17,318 +0.24% 1856 18,069 +0.85% 1861 17,581 −0.55% 1866 19,890 +2.50% 1872 20,385 +0.41% 1876 21,774 +1.66% 1881 21,156 −0.57% 1886 21,721 +0.53% 1891 22,665 +0.85% 1896 22,215 −0.40%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 22,340 +0.11% 1906 21,888 −0.41% 1911 21,990 +0.09% 1921 22,968 +0.44% 1926 23,306 +0.29% 1931 22,225 −0.95% 1936 22,369 +0.13% 1946 23,254 +0.39% 1954 24,441 +0.62% 1962 23,909 −0.27% 1968 25,979 +1.39% 1975 26,067 +0.05% 1982 25,159 −0.51% 1990 22,799 −1.22% 1999 21,892 −0.45% 2007 20,251 −0.97% 2012 18,959 −1.31% 2017 19,664 +0.73%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Museums

• Centre National du Costume de Scene (museum)

Notable people

• Antoine Gilbert Griffet de Labaume (1756–1805), translator and man of letters
• Théodore de Banville (1823–1891), poet and playwright
• Jean Pastelot (1820–1870), painter and caricaturist
• Coco Chanel, fashion designer, started as a cabaret singer
• Philippe N'Dioro, footballer
• Jean-Luc Perrot (born 1959), pipe organ player and composer
• Stéphane Risacher, basketball player for the French national team
• Jean-Baptiste Faure, opera singer
• Samuel Paty, slain teacher
• Claude Louis Hector de Villars (1653–1734), Marshal General of France
• Gilbert Mercier (1957), author of "The Orwellian Empire" and journalist
• Louis Jacques Brunet (1811), ancient professor of natural history
• James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick (1670–1734)
• Rahel Shtainshnaider, footballer

Notable companies

• Decauville factory
• Manitowoc Company

See also

• Moulins Cathedral
• Diocese of Moulins
• AS Moulins
• Communes of the Allier department
• Moulins Ball

External links

• City council website (in French)
• Local tourism website (in French)
• Picture of Moulins Cathedral