Pont-Saint-Esprit

Pont-Saint-Esprit

Saint Saturnin church and the medieval bridge over the Rhône River

Coat of arms
Pont-Saint-Esprit

Coordinates: 44°15′27″N 4°38′57″E / 44.2575°N 4.6492°E / 44.2575; 4.6492Coordinates: 44°15′27″N 4°38′57″E / 44.2575°N 4.6492°E / 44.2575; 4.6492
Country France
Region Occitanie
Department Gard
Arrondissement Nîmes
Canton Pont-Saint-Esprit
Government
 • Mayor (2001–2008) Gilbert Baumet
Area1 18.49 km2 (7.14 sq mi)
Population (2012)2 10,651
 • Density 580/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 30202 / 30130
Elevation 36–187 m (118–614 ft)
(avg. 59 m or 194 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Pont-Saint-Esprit (Occitan: Lo Pònt Sant Esperit) is a commune in the Gard département in southern France. It is situated on the Rhône River and is the site of a historical crossing, hence its name. The Ardèche River flows into the Rhône, just to the north of the bridge. The residents are called Spiripontains.

Bouvier family origins

Pont-Saint-Esprit is famous as the town of origin of Michel Bouvier, a cabinetmaker, who was the ancestor of John Vernou Bouvier III, father of Jacqueline Kennedy.

1951 mass poisoning incident

On 15 August 1951, an outbreak of poisoning, marked by acute psychotic episodes and various physical symptoms, occurred in Pont-Saint-Esprit. More than 250 people were involved, including 50 persons interned in asylums and four deaths.[1] Most academic sources accept ergot poisoning as the cause of the epidemic, while a few theorize other causes such as poisoning by mercury, mycotoxins, or nitrogen trichloride.[2][3][4][5][6] In 2008, journalist Hank Albarelli speculated that the incident was a secret mind control experiment by the Central Intelligence Agency, a conclusion subsequently dismissed by historians and chemists.[7]

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
17935,766—    
18004,055−29.7%
18064,331+6.8%
18214,545+4.9%
18314,953+9.0%
18415,239+5.8%
18515,538+5.7%
18615,123−7.5%
18724,350−15.1%
18814,726+8.6%
18915,262+11.3%
19014,798−8.8%
19114,685−2.4%
19215,801+23.8%
19314,652−19.8%
19464,149−10.8%
19544,925+18.7%
19625,778+17.3%
19686,951+20.3%
19756,709−3.5%
19828,067+20.2%
19909,277+15.0%
19999,265−0.1%
20069,661+4.3%
201110,640+10.1%
201210,651+0.1%

International relations

Pont-Saint-Esprit is twinned with:

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Gabbai, Lisbonne and Pourquier (1951-09-15). "Ergot Poisoning at Pont St. Esprit". British Medical Journal. 2 (4732): 650–651. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.930.650-a. PMC 2069953Freely accessible. PMID 14869677.
  2. ↑ Lisbonne, Gabbai (15 September 1951). "Ergot Poisoning at Pont St. Esprit". British Medical Journal. 2 (4732): 650–651. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.930.650-a. PMC 2069953Freely accessible. PMID 14869677.
  3. ↑ Finger, Stanley (2001). Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations Into Brain Function. Oxford University Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-19-514694-3. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  4. ↑ Pommerville, Jeffrey C.; Alcamo, I. Edward (2013). Alcamo's Fundamentals of Microbiology: Body systems edition. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 734. ISBN 978-1-4496-0594-0. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Cavaciocchi, Simonetta, ed. (2010). Economic and biological interactions in pre-industrial Europe, from the 13th to the 18th century. Istituto internazionale di storia economica F. Datini. Settimana di studio. Firenze University Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-88-8453-585-6. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  6. ↑ Frederick Burwick (1 November 2010). Poetic Madness and the Romantic Imagination. Penn State Press. pp. 180–. ISBN 978-0-271-04296-1. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  7. ↑ Horn, Heather. "Did the CIA Really Dose a French Village With LSD? Telegraph says the Agency caused madness, many say "rot"". The Atlantic. The Atlantic. Retrieved 25 October 2016.

Further reading

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