Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire

Identity

Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire (INSEE 04192) is in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04), part of CC Haute-Provence - Pays de Banon. Population 1,329 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Bourgs ruraux (level 5). ^[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/04192-saint-michel-l-observatoire

Vitality score

Vitality score 48.3/100 — Partly served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: medium (sources disagree on Restaurant).

Better served than 75 % of the 12,474 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) (FABRIS). ^[3,4]

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

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (EPICERIE DE SAINT MICHEL). ^[3,4]

1 × Restaurant (AUBERGE DES COUPOLES). ^[3,4]

2 × Café / bar (CAFE DES VOYAGEURS · L'OBSERVATOIRE). ^[4]

1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE PRIMAIRE LA GRANDE OURSE). ^[3]

1 × GP (médecin généraliste) (DOMINIQUE RAIMOND, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

1 × Post office / agence postale (LA POSTE). ^[3]

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE SAINT-MICHEL-L'OBSERVATOIRE). ^[3]

2 × Hairdresser (SAAJ.NA). ^[3,4]

1 × Campsite (CAMPING SOUS LES ETOILES). ^[3,4]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 2 × Restaurant, 1 × Hairdresser, 1 × Hotel.

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

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

Population 1,196 (2012) → 1,329 (2023): 11.1 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 844 (1990) → 1,329 (2023): 57.5 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 854, of which 19.4 % second homes and 6.6 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire): 0.2 km to the west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire): 0 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire): 0.1 km to the south (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Mane): 5 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire): 0.2 km to the west (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

An average of 45 days a year at or above 30 °C and 97 days at or below 0 °C, over 21 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the DAUPHIN weather station, 4 km away at 427 m; the village itself is at 558 m. ^[10]

The village sits 131 m above the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 5.21 °C per km of altitude before the days were counted. Expect the result to be within about 0.68 °C. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 0 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at DAUPHIN, 4 km away at 427 m, over 21 summers. ^[10]

That station sits 131 m below the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 4.57 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[10]

An average of 691 mm of rain a year, spread over 66 days — about 10.5 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at DAUPHIN, 4 km away at 427 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

Uncertainties

sources disagree on Restaurant

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04192/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04192/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04192/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 04192/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 04192
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 04111
10. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024