Ruffec, Charente

Ruffec (French pronunciation: [ʁyfɛk]) is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France.

Ruffec
Commune
Town hall
Coat of arms
Location of Ruffec
Ruffec Show map of France Ruffec Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 46°01′46″N 0°12′00″E
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Charente
Arrondissement	Confolens
Canton	Charente-Nord
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Thierry Bastier[1]
Area 1	13.37 km2 (5.16 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	3,353
• Density	250/km2 (650/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	16292 /16700
Elevation	83–145 m (272–476 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It is a stopover town on the road from Paris to Spain (Route nationale 10), between Poitiers and Angoulême.

During the Second World War, Ruffec was at the centre of Resistance for the evacuation of the Allied airmen towards Spain.^[3]

Population

Its inhabitants are known as the Ruffécois or the Ruffécoises in French.^[4]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,937 —     1800 2,110 +1.23% 1806 2,197 +0.68% 1821 2,526 +0.93% 1831 3,004 +1.75% 1841 2,977 −0.09% 1846 3,074 +0.64% 1851 3,654 +3.52% 1856 3,109 −3.18% 1861 3,235 +0.80% 1866 3,175 −0.37% 1872 3,233 +0.30% 1876 3,385 +1.16% 1881 3,642 +1.47% 1886 3,589 −0.29% 1891 3,527 −0.35% 1896 3,426 −0.58% 1901 3,474 +0.28%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1906 3,375 −0.58% 1911 3,483 +0.63% 1921 3,231 −0.75% 1926 3,194 −0.23% 1931 3,292 +0.61% 1936 3,467 +1.04% 1946 3,874 +1.12% 1954 3,724 −0.49% 1962 4,009 +0.93% 1968 4,157 +0.61% 1975 4,241 +0.29% 1982 4,193 −0.16% 1990 3,893 −0.92% 1999 3,630 −0.77% 2007 3,594 −0.12% 2012 3,494 −0.56% 2017 3,410 −0.49%
Source: EHESS[5] and INSEE (1968-2017)[6]

Twin towns – sister cities

Ruffec is twinned with:

• Waldsee, Germany
• Pásztó, Hungary

See also

• Communes of the Charente department

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. "Ruffec, histoire et patrimoine - Mairie Ruffec". www.mairie-ruffec.fr. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
4. "Le nom des habitants du 16 - Charente - Habitants". www.habitants.fr. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
5. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Ruffec, EHESS (in French).
6. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE