Besson

Allier · CA Moulins Communauté · INSEE 03026

A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink.

Partly served 51.3/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 92 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Besson (INSEE 03026) is in Allier (03), part of CA Moulins Communauté. Population 728 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Rural à habitat très dispersé (level 7). ^[2]

Data vintages: INSEE BPE 2025 · INSEE SIRENE 2026-09 · INSEE census (RP) 2023 · INSEE COG 2026 · INSEE density grid 2026.

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/03026-besson

Vitality score

Vitality score 51.3/100 — Partly served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 92 % of the 16,213 communes of a similar size.

Compare this with communes of a similar size. The score measures how well a place is served relative to its own size band, and larger communes score higher as a rule — so it reads meaningfully against another village, and misleadingly against a town.

Measured but not scored in this model: Market. See the methodology for why.

Component	Value (0–1)	Weight	Contribution
Daily food	0.42	25	10.54
Social	0.43	20	8.65
Education	0.63	10	6.32
Health	0.63	10	6.32
Public & culture	0.63	5	3.16
Population trend	0.43	10	4.26
Housing mix	0.88	5	4.38

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 2 of 6

Eating out 1 of 1

Cafés and bars 0 of 1

Schools 1 of 3

Health 2 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 0 of 2

Everyday services 1 of 3

Lodging 0 of 2

One square per service type, shaded by how many: none, one, a few, five or more. A blank square means none was counted — the sources do not distinguish “none here” from “not counted”.

A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

1 × Butcher (boucherie) (BOUCHERIE BESSONNAISE). ^[3,4]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (PANIER FRAIS). ^[3,4]

2 × Restaurant (LA CHURRASQUEIRA). ^[3,4]

1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE PRIMAIRE EX GARCONS). ^[3]

1 × GP (médecin généraliste) (LAURINE MARTIN, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

1 × Pharmacy (PHARMACIE DE BESSON). ^[3,4]

1 × Post office / agence postale (BESSON AP). ^[3]

1 × Library (MAIRIE DE BESSON). ^[3]

2 × Hairdresser (STYL COIFF · LE COIF'IN CAR D'AURELIE). ^[3,4]

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Supermarket, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle). ^[3,4]

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	1	BOUCHERIE BESSONNAISE	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	1	PANIER FRAIS	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Supermarket	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Cheese shop (fromagerie)	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Fishmonger	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Restaurant	2	LA CHURRASQUEIRA	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Café / bar	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE PRIMAIRE EX GARCONS	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	1	LAURINE MARTIN, MÉDECIN	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Pharmacy	1	PHARMACIE DE BESSON	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Nurse	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Dentist	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Post office / agence postale	1	BESSON AP	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Library	1	MAIRIE DE BESSON	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Cinema	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Gym / sports hall	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Swimming pool	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Bank	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Hairdresser	2	STYL COIFF · LE COIF'IN CAR D'AURELIE	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Fuel station	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Hotel	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Campsite	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]

Market and village life

Market day: unknown — nothing found in the datasets or on the commune website.

Trajectory

1968: 817 2023: 728 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 783 (2012) → 728 (2023): -7 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 786 (1990) → 728 (2023): -7.4 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 387, of which 6.2 % second homes and 8.8 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Food shop, Primary school, GP, Pharmacy Bakery — 8.1 km SE Straight-line, from the mairie, in the direction given. Services in the same town share a spoke. Distance is not travel time: a pass or an estuary can double it.

Bakery (Châtel-de-Neuvre): 8.1 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Besson): 0.1 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[9]

GP (Besson): 0.1 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Besson): 0.1 km to the north (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Besson): 0 km to the west (straight line). ^[9]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 18.5

Days at or below 0 °C 57.4

Muggy days a summer 2

Each track runs from the 5th to the 95th percentile of the 34,141 communes with that measurement; the tick is the median. A value beyond either end sits at the end and is marked ▸.

An average of 19 days a year at or above 30 °C and 57 days at or below 0 °C, over 22 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the CHEMILLY weather station, 4.5 km away at 236 m; the village itself is at 272 m. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 2 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at NEUVY, 8.9 km away at 257 m, over 14 summers. ^[10]

An average of 722 mm of rain a year, spread over 114 days — about 6.3 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at CHEMILLY, 4.5 km away at 236 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03026/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03026/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03026/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 03026/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 03065
INSEE BPE 2025 — 03026
Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024

Villages like this one

Matched on size, density, second homes and which everyday shops and services are present — not on the score, so a village of the same kind that is doing better or worse shows up rather than being hidden.

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Puymiclan	47	317 km SW	701	42.2	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 59 % · winter 76 % · humidity 57 %
Barran	32	387 km SW	692	42.8	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 59 % · winter 74 % · humidity 64 %
Les Hermites	37	232 km NW	583	49.6	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 86 % · humidity 93 %
Barcus	64	484 km SW	654	53.4	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 95 % · winter 69 % · humidity 21 %
Coussey	88	282 km NE	716	49.4	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Lonlay-l'Abbaye	61	384 km NW	1,123	40.4	Partly served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 73 % · humidity 93 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Les Hermites	37	232 km NW	583	49.6	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 86 % · humidity 93 %
Coussey	88	282 km NE	716	49.4	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Puymiclan	47	317 km SW	701	42.2	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 59 % · winter 76 % · humidity 57 %
Lonlay-l'Abbaye	61	384 km NW	1,123	40.4	Partly served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 73 % · humidity 93 %
Barran	32	387 km SW	692	42.8	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 59 % · winter 74 % · humidity 64 %
Barcus	64	484 km SW	654	53.4	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 95 % · winter 69 % · humidity 21 %

Sort and compare these on the full list →

…and in much the same climate

The same match on size and services, narrowed to communes whose summers, winters and summer humidity are all close to Besson's. All three are required, so this section is absent for the 11.8 % of communes with no humidity station near enough to measure: two temperature axes alone cannot tell a muggy coast from a dry one.

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Les Hermites	37	232 km NW	583	49.6	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 86 % · humidity 93 %
Coussey	88	282 km NE	716	49.4	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Cieux	87	179 km W	1,003	35.9	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 86 % · humidity 100 %
Girancourt	88	297 km NE	877	56.3	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 %
Augerolles	63	88 km S	862	50	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Sébastien	23	133 km W	612	45.5	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 %

Elsewhere

Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/03026-besson