Mézel

Identity

Mézel (INSEE 04121) is in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04), part of CA Provence-Alpes-Agglomération. Population 611 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Rural à habitat dispersé (level 6). ^[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/04121-mezel

Vitality score

Vitality score 66.1/100 — Served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 99 % of the 16,966 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.

Services

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

1 × Bakery (boulangerie) (AU PERE FOUG'ASSE). ^[3,4]

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

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (AUX PANIERS D'EMLY). ^[3,4]

2 × Restaurant (LE PRESSOIR GOURMAND · HOTEL DE LA PLACE). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar (BISTROT DE L'AVENUE). ^[4]

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

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

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

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE MÉZEL). ^[3]

1 × Hairdresser (NACE COIFFURE). ^[3,4]

1 × Hotel (HOTEL DE LA PLACE). ^[3]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Pharmacy.

Not found in the commune: Supermarket, Nursery school (maternelle), GP (médecin généraliste). ^[3,4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

Population 709 (2012) → 611 (2023): -13.8 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 423 (1990) → 611 (2023): 44.4 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 476, of which 17 % second homes and 16.8 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Mézel): 0.3 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Mézel): 0.3 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Estoublon): 6.4 km to the south (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Digne-les-Bains): 9.1 km to the north (straight line). ^[10]

Primary school (Mézel): 0.2 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

An average of 49 days a year at or above 30 °C and 100 days at or below 0 °C, over 21 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[11]

Measured at the DIGNE LES BAINS weather station, 8.3 km away at 554 m; the village itself is at 574 m. ^[11]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 0 days a summer. ^[11]

Humidity measured at DIGNE LES BAINS, 8.3 km away at 554 m, over 21 summers. ^[11]

An average of 693 mm of rain a year, spread over 75 days — about 9.2 mm on a day it rains. ^[11]

Rainfall measured at DIGNE LES BAINS, 8.3 km away at 554 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[11]

What property sold for

49 houses sold between 2021 and 2025, at a median of 120,000 € — 1,360 € per m² of built surface. ^[12]

21 flats sold over the same window, at a median of 80,000 € — 1,177 € per m². ^[12]

The median across Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is 2,214 € per m², so this commune sits below it. ^[12]

These are recorded sale prices, not valuations or asking prices, and a median over five years spans five different markets. Built surface excludes land, which carries much of a rural property's value.

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04121/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04121/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04121/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04121/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 04121
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 04084
10. INSEE BPE 2025 — 04070
11. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024
12. DVF (DGFiP property transactions) 2021-2025