Mont-de-Marsan

Mont-de-Marsan is a commune and capital of the Landesdepartment in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.

Government
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Landes
Canton	Mont-de-Marsan-1 and 2
Mayor (2020–2026)	Charles Dayot
Area¹	36.88 km² (14.24 sq mi)
Population	29,554
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)

Economy

Overall, three sectors dominate the economic activity of Mont-de-Marsan:

The agro-food sector : mainly around poultry (duck, chicken, foie gras) and corn, large companies are based here ( Delpeyrat , Maïsadour );
The wood sector : several companies are participating in the work of the Industries and Pin Maritime du Futur competitiveness cluster;
The Military Air Experience Center: the Mont-de-Marsan air base (BA 118) is one of the main operational bases of the French air forces.

As a prefecture, Mont-de-Marsan is also the seat of numerous administrations such as the Landes Chamber of Commerce and Industry or the general council of the department. The presence of Air Base 118 has a major influence on the economic and demographic development of the city, although it prevents geographic expansion to the north. With more than 3,800 men and women engaged, the base is a major employment pool.

The municipality is particularly committed to the development of free software and wishes to see the emergence of a technopolitan activity zone to the east of the city, bringing together innovative companies around a nursery, higher education establishments and research laboratories.

Transport

Mont-de-Marsan is geographically located in the center of the great Southwest . The large cities of the region are therefore all accessible in less than three hours for a journey by car, with the exception of Poitiers (3 hours 30) and Limoges (3 hours 50).

The Mont-de-Marsan station is now located only on the line Morcenx / Mont-de-Marsan which is the terminus. Through this, the city is linked by TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine to Bordeaux and Dax – Bayonne .

The city of Mont-de-Marsan’s urban bus network has been called Tma (pronounced Téma). Operated by the company Veolia Transport , it is made up of 7 lines (from the letter A to G) run by 18 buses (each representing the color of one of the 18 municipalities of the agglomeration). In addition, a free shuttle runs downtown, rotating every fifteen minutes. The network also offers an on-demand transport service as well as bicycle rental (standard, folding or electrically assisted).

Environmental heritage

The town is affected by the ZNIEFF type 2 “Midou Valley and Ognoas departmental forest” and “Twelve and its tributaries valleys” . It is also concerned by the Natura 2000 sites “Hydrographic network of the tributaries of the Midouze” and “Hydrographic network of the Midou and Ludon ” .

Education

In Mont-de-Marsan, the public school welcomes a little over 1,500 children in primary school (for 70 classes) and nearly a thousand in nursery school (for 39 classes). In 2011, the number of students per class was 22.7 on average for primary schools (against 25.5 in the department) and 23.8 in nursery school (28 in Landes).

Higher education

The number of students registered at Mont-de-Marsan is estimated at around 2,500:

University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour ( UPPA ) which is spread over four geographic locations: the site of Mont-de-Marsan welcomes 300 students in Faculty of Law and an IUT.
Higher School of Teaching and Education ;
IFSI (Institute for training in nursing care);
Various BTS (management, accounting, aesthetics-cosmetics …);
Cinémagis: film and image school opened in 2010 issuing a professional license in three years.

Local Culture and Heritage

Places and monuments

Mont-de-Marsan has 13 protected historical monuments (1 classification, 12 inscriptions) .

Landes Departmental Council and its departmental archives service ;
Town hall of Mont-de-Marsan (1901);
Prefecture of the Landes (1818) , listed as a historical monument .
Mont-de-Marsan penitentiary center (2008);
Mont-de-Marsan courthouse (1809);
(A new judicial city must be built and delivered in 2021) ;
Prison of Mont-de-Marsan (1809) , facade classified as MH (the only listed monument in Mont-de-Marsan);
Stable of the gendarmerie, 4 rue du Huit-Mai-1945 (1816) , registered with the MH .
Château Nolibos and Château Vieux , now missing;
Keep Lacataye, standing in MH ;
Strong Romanesque houses , registered in the MH ;
Ramparts of Mont-de-Marsan , registered in the MH ;
Franciscan convent and chapel;
Rue des Arceaux, remarkable for its four half-timbered arches.

Places of worship

Church of the Madeleine , rue de la Madeleine (1830) ;
Saint-Jean-d’Août church , avenue Henri Farbos (1866);
Church Saint-Médard-de-Beausse Avenue Jean Dupouy ( xi ^th century);
Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Church , avenue de Canenx (1963) ;
Old Romanesque chapel , Gaston Phoebus street ( xiv ^th century) ;
Chapel of the Good Shepherd of Lesbazeilles hospital ;

Remarkable places

Place Charles-de-Gaulle, entirely paved including the municipal theater (1830) , the old library and bar terraces;
Place Pitrac, a small pedestrian square with bar terraces, a Spanish grocery store and regular entertainment;
Place Saint-Roch (nicknamed Red Square) with its market ranked among the hundred most beautiful in France;
Place des Arènes soon to be redeveloped;
Place Joseph-Pancaut, redevelopment planned for 2016.

Parks and green spaces

Parc Jean-Rameau (1813) , emblematic garden of the city, covering an area of six hectares, located on the north bank of the Twelve ;
Nahuques animal park (23 ha) with playground and semi-free animals ;
Étienne-Lacaze Park with playground and pétanque court;
Walk of 21-August-1944 arranged on the edge of the Midou;
Berges de la Midouze, undergoing redevelopment;
Pond of the Rond with wooden path and pontoon for fishing.

The washhouses

Built along its three rivers, Mont-de-Marsan has preserved a rich heritage around water. There are seven washhouses still standing today, six of which are in town, the seventh being located in Saint-Médard. This is without forgetting the private laundries which remain hidden in the courtyards and gardens.

Laundry of Bourg Neuf, considered the oldest, located in the square des Anciens-Combattants, below the roadway. It was built at the foot of the ramparts of the xii ^th century and Lacataye keep, in the hollow of a former defensive ditch of the city. It is fed by a fountain on which the date of 1734 has been engraved. Today, the roof is covered with tiles and the access to the washhouse is closed by a gate;
La Cale de l’Abreuvoir washhouse, the most emblematic of the city. Built in 1870 at the instigation of the mayor of the time, Antoine Lacaze after filling in the wash-house of the Fontaine du Bourg (current Place de la Mairie), it stands on the edge of the left bank of the Midouze, at the level of the confluence. It has the shape of a half ellipse and has, on the facade, ten arches supported by stone pillars.
Lavoir du Port or du Quai, located at the corner of Quai de la Midouze and Cale des Chalands. It was built to replace that of the Fontaine de Laburthe (also known as de Rigole), removed in 1898 after a case of typhoid fever. Completed in 1907, the Port washhouse is the only one bordered by buildings on either side.
Laundry of Rigole or Tambareau, today taken over by the Mons fishing school;
Lavoir de la Tannerie (also called the Lavoir de la Fontaine de la Porte Campet), below Place Raymond-Poincaré, on the banks of the Twelve.
Lavoir de Nonères, located avenue Victor-Duruy. It is now inaccessible since it is occupied by the storage of the equipment of the Stade Montois canoe-kayak club.

Cultural facilities

Museums and galleries

Dubalen Museum .

Despiau-Wlérick third museum of Aquitaine, devoted to figurative sculpture xx ^th century (1968);
Dubalen Museum (1972);
Museum of the 34 ^th Infantry Regiment (2006);
Raymond Farbos Contemporary Art Center ;
Galerie de la Minoterie.

Sports

It is indeed possible to practice no less than 44 sports disciplines, from the most popular ( football , rugby , basketball , tennis , volleyball , swimming , judo , karate ) to the most confidential (stunt) , palm game , aikido , trampoline , archery and many more). In addition, there are 28 clubs and 36 sports sections.

Stade rugby in Mons ;
Mons football stadium ;
Mons basketball stadium ;
Mons table tennis stadium, which is currently playing in National 1;
Basket Landes ;
Cyclo Saint-Jean-d’Août;
Landes Handball Committee;

Main sports equipment

Hippodrome des Grands Pins ;
Guy-Boniface Stadium ;
Jean-Loustau Stadium ;
Stade de l’Argenté;
Nahuques Street Park ( BMX bike race track ; skateboard area );
Golf of Saint-Avit ;
ASPTT sports complex ;
Various fields, stadiums, gymnasiums, halls and neighborhood pediments.