Fox-Amphoux

Commune in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Coat of arms

Location of Fox-Amphoux

(2020–2026) Hubert Geolle^[1]Area

40.76 km² (15.74 sq mi)Population

(2021)^[2]

486 • Density12/km² (31/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)INSEE/Postal code

83060 /83670

Elevation376–691 m (1,234–2,267 ft)
(avg. 540 m or 1,770 ft)¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Fox-Amphoux (French pronunciation: [fɔks ɑ̃fu]; Occitan: Fòs Amfós) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in south-eastern France.

As with many smaller villages off the beaten track and closer to the coast, the village perché of Fox-Amphoux lives a quiet life. The old church tower behind the town square offers a 360° panorama of the surrounding countryside including a view of Mont Sainte Victoire to the west. The former hotel in the centre of the village offers bed and breakfast ('chambres d'hôtes').

Notable residents

Paul Barras, president of the Directory and a major figure of the French Revolution, was born in Fox-Amphoux in 1755.^[3]^[4] Christer Strömholm (1918–2002) a Swedish photographer, recipient of the 1997 Hasselblad Award, had a house here. The artist René Lacroix (1948–2011) originally from Nice, moved to Fox-Amphoux in 2004 and had his atelier/gallery in the far end of the village; his works have been exhibited in France and also abroad.

Trees

A huge nettle tree, or 'micocoulier', Celtis australis, planted in 1550, stands immediately in front of the church. In front of the nettle tree is an old field elm, Ulmus minor (73 cm d.b.h.), which has (<2017) escaped Dutch elm disease.

Elm (left) and nettle tree in front of the church at Fox-Amphoux
Nettle tree at Fox-Amphoux
Elm in centre of Fox-Amphoux

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ Richardson, Hubert N. B. (1920). A Dictionary of Napoleon and His Times. London: Cassell & Co. p. 30.
^ Rose, John Holland (1911). "Barras, Paul François Nicolas" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). pp. 431–432.