Balan

Ardennes · CA Ardenne Métropole · INSEE 08043

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

Partly served 51.3/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 79 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Balan (INSEE 08043) is in Ardennes (08), part of CA Ardenne Métropole. Population 1,579 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Ceintures urbaines (level 4). ^[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/08043-balan

Vitality score

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

Confidence: high.

Better served than 79 % of the 11,239 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	0.47	25	11.83
Social	0.51	20	10.26
Education	0.39	10	3.93
Health	0.59	10	5.85
Public & culture	0.39	5	1.97
Population trend	0.51	10	5.07
Housing mix	0.94	5	4.71

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 3 of 6

Eating out 1 of 1

Cafés and bars 1 of 1

Schools 1 of 3

Health 2 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 1 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]

2 × Bakery (boulangerie) (LES MILLE & UNE SAVEURS). ^[3,4]

1 × Butcher (boucherie). ^[3,4]

1 × Supermarket (ALDI MARCHE). ^[3,4]

2 × Restaurant (CHEZ MICHEL · AIMI PABLINO). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar (BALAN - TIME CAFE). ^[4]

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

3 × GP (médecin généraliste) (SYLVIE BIDOT MAURANT, MÉDECIN · MARC-ALEXANDRE YCARD, MÉDECIN · ADRIAN DANALACHE, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

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

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

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHÈQUE UN LIVRE POUR TOUS A BALAN). ^[3]

1 × Gym / sports hall (COSEC). ^[3]

2 × Hairdresser (PARCE QU'ON AIME · SD COIFFURE). ^[3,4]

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

Not found in the commune: Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Nursery school (maternelle). ^[3,4]

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	2	LES MILLE & UNE SAVEURS	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	1		INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Supermarket	1	ALDI MARCHE	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]
Cheese shop (fromagerie)	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Fishmonger	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Restaurant	2	CHEZ MICHEL · AIMI PABLINO	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 3 [3,4]
Café / bar	1	BALAN - TIME CAFE	INSEE SIRENE 1 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE PRIMAIRE PUBLIQUE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	3	SYLVIE BIDOT MAURANT, MÉDECIN · MARC-ALEXANDRE YCARD, MÉDECIN · ADRIAN DANALACHE, MÉDECIN	INSEE BPE 3 [3]
Pharmacy	1	PHARMACIE DE BALAN	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	BALAN AP	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Library	1	BIBLIOTHÈQUE UN LIVRE POUR TOUS A BALAN	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Cinema	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Gym / sports hall	1	COSEC	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Swimming pool	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Bank	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Hairdresser	2	PARCE QU'ON AIME · SD COIFFURE	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: 1,461 peak 2007: 1,653 2023: 1,579 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 1,591 (2012) → 1,579 (2023): -0.8 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 1,568 (1990) → 1,579 (2023): 0.7 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 831, of which 2.9 % second homes and 10 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Bakery, Food shop, Primary school, GP Pharmacy — 0.6 km N 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 (Balan): 0 km to the west (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Balan): 0.2 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Balan): 0.2 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Balan): 0.6 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

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

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 11

Days at or below 0 °C 68.7

Muggy days a summer 0.7

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 11 days a year at or above 30 °C and 69 days at or below 0 °C, over 22 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[9]

Measured at the DOUZY weather station, 6.7 km away at 153 m; the village itself is at 156 m. ^[9]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 1 day a summer. ^[9]

Humidity measured at DOUZY, 6.7 km away at 153 m, over 23 summers. ^[9]

An average of 871 mm of rain a year, spread over 130 days — about 6.7 mm on a day it rains. ^[9]

Rainfall measured at DOUZY, 6.7 km away at 153 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[9]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 08043/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 08043/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 08043/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 08043/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 08043
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
Bénouville	14	382 km W	1,987	61.2	Served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 79 % · winter 43 % · humidity 100 %
Pernes	62	202 km NW	1,574	59.6	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 58 % · humidity 100 %
Goincourt	60	213 km W	1,552	52.7	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 78 % · humidity 100 %
Domarin	38	457 km S	1,659	54.7	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 51 % · winter 61 % · humidity 93 %
Soliers	14	385 km W	2,260	53.2	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 46 % · humidity 100 %
Neuf-Brisach	68	264 km SE	1,895	65.7	Served	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Pernes	62	202 km NW	1,574	59.6	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 58 % · humidity 100 %
Goincourt	60	213 km W	1,552	52.7	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 78 % · humidity 100 %
Neuf-Brisach	68	264 km SE	1,895	65.7	Served	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 69 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Bénouville	14	382 km W	1,987	61.2	Served	Cooler summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 79 % · winter 43 % · humidity 100 %
Soliers	14	385 km W	2,260	53.2	Partly served	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 46 % · humidity 100 %
Domarin	38	457 km S	1,659	54.7	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 51 % · winter 61 % · humidity 93 %

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 Balan'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
Flavigny-sur-Moselle	54	153 km SE	1,661	44.1	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 89 % · humidity 100 %
Novéant-sur-Moselle	57	108 km SE	1,844	42.9	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 86 % · humidity 100 %
Cravanche	90	265 km SE	1,942	42.4	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 96 % · humidity 100 %
Mathay	25	284 km SE	2,115	50.9	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 96 % · humidity 93 %
Bruyères-et-Montbérault	02	95 km W	1,411	46.3	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 91 % · humidity 100 %
Sainte-Suzanne	25	277 km SE	1,501	44.8	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 96 % · humidity 93 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/08043-balan