Chalais

Charente · CC Lavalette Tude Dronne · INSEE 16073

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

Partly served 58.2/100 · confidence: medium· Better served than 90 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Chalais (INSEE 16073) is in Charente (16), part of CC Lavalette Tude Dronne. Population 1,812 (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 · Commune website 2026-10-24 · DATAtourisme 2026-10-22.

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/16073-chalais

Vitality score

Vitality score 58.2/100 — Partly served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: medium (sources disagree on Restaurant).

Better served than 90 % of the 10,264 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	0.68	25	17.01
Social	0.59	20	11.7
Education	0.63	10	6.32
Health	0.51	10	5.13
Public & culture	0.39	5	1.97
Population trend	0.33	10	3.34
Housing mix	0.81	5	4.03

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 3 of 6

Eating out 1 of 1

Cafés and bars 1 of 1

Schools 3 of 3

Health 2 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 1 of 2

Everyday services 3 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]

3 × Bakery (boulangerie) (O P TI EN K · BOULANGERIE DOUSSAINT). ^[3,4]

2 × Butcher (boucherie) (AGUESSEAU · DU PRE A LA FOURCHETTE). ^[3,4]

2 × Supermarket (LIDL · SORIC). ^[3,4]

3 × Restaurant (SARL LE RELAIS DU CHATEAU · LA BODEGA · AABC RESTAURATION). ^[3,4]

1 × Café / bar (LE FLORE). ^[4]

1 × Nursery school (maternelle) (ECOLE MATERNELLE DES COULEURS DE CHALAIS). ^[3]

2 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE DES SIX ARBRES · ECOLE PRIMAIRE PRIVEE CASTEL MARIE). ^[3]

1 × Collège (COLLEGE THEODORE RANCY). ^[3]

2 × GP (médecin généraliste) (THIERRY BOURRUT-LACOUTURE, MÉDECIN · XAVIER CABROL, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

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

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

1 × Library (MEDIATHEQUE MUNICIPALE). ^[3]

1 × Gym / sports hall (SALLE OMNISPORTS). ^[3]

2 × Bank (CAISSE LOCALE DE CREDIT AGRICOLE MUTUEL · CAISSE REGIONALE DE CREDIT AGRICOLE MUTUEL CHARENTE-PERIGORD). ^[3]

6 × Hairdresser (COIFFURE VALERIE · SALON N15 · NATUR'L · AMBIANCE SALON · MPHOENIX2018). ^[3,4]

1 × Fuel station (STATION SERVICE). ^[3]

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

Not found in the commune: Grocery (épicerie / supérette). ^[4]

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	3	O P TI EN K · BOULANGERIE DOUSSAINT	INSEE BPE 3 / INSEE SIRENE 4 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	2	AGUESSEAU · DU PRE A LA FOURCHETTE	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 3 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	0		INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [4]
Supermarket	2	LIDL · SORIC	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Cheese shop (fromagerie)	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Fishmonger	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Restaurant	3	SARL LE RELAIS DU CHATEAU · LA BODEGA · AABC RESTAURATION	INSEE BPE 3 / INSEE SIRENE 8 [3,4]
Café / bar	1	LE FLORE	INSEE SIRENE 1 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	1	ECOLE MATERNELLE DES COULEURS DE CHALAIS	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	2	ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE DES SIX ARBRES · ECOLE PRIMAIRE PRIVEE CASTEL MARIE	INSEE BPE 2 [3]
Collège	1	COLLEGE THEODORE RANCY	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	2	THIERRY BOURRUT-LACOUTURE, MÉDECIN · XAVIER CABROL, MÉDECIN	INSEE BPE 2 [3]
Pharmacy	1	PHARMACIE OLAIZOLA	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Nurse	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Dentist	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Post office / agence postale	1	LA POSTE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Library	1	MEDIATHEQUE MUNICIPALE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Cinema	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Gym / sports hall	1	SALLE OMNISPORTS	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Swimming pool	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Bank	2	CAISSE LOCALE DE CREDIT AGRICOLE MUTUEL · CAISSE REGIONALE DE CREDIT AGRICOLE MUTUEL CHARENTE-PERIGORD	INSEE BPE 2 [3]
Hairdresser	6	COIFFURE VALERIE · SALON N15 · NATUR'L · AMBIANCE SALON · MPHOENIX2018	INSEE BPE 6 / INSEE SIRENE 7 [3,4]
Fuel station	1	STATION SERVICE	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3]
Hotel	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Campsite	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]

Market and village life

Weekly market: Monday, Thursday. ^[5,6,7]

Confirmed by two independent sources: Commune website and DATAtourisme.

Confirmed by two independent sources: Monday. Reported by one source only: Thursday. ^[7]

Trajectory

1968: 2,484 peak 1975: 2,538 2023: 1,812 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 1,807 (2012) → 1,812 (2023): 0.3 % over 10 years. ^[8,1]

Population 2,172 (1990) → 1,812 (2023): -16.6 % over 30 years. ^[9,1]

Dwellings (2023): 1,220, of which 9.7 % second homes and 18.2 % vacant. ^[10]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Bakery, Food shop, Primary school, GP, Pharmacy 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 (Chalais): 0.1 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[11]

Food shop (Chalais): 0 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[11]

GP (Chalais): 0.3 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[11]

Pharmacy (Chalais): 0.1 km to the north-east (straight line). ^[11]

Primary school (Chalais): 0.2 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[11]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 25.8

Days at or below 0 °C 38.5

Muggy days a summer 4.3

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 26 days a year at or above 30 °C and 39 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[12]

Measured at the RIOUX MARTIN weather station, 3.1 km away at 81 m; the village itself is at 51 m. ^[12]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 4 days a summer. ^[12]

Humidity measured at RIOUX MARTIN, 3.1 km away at 81 m, over 30 summers. ^[12]

An average of 830 mm of rain a year, spread over 122 days — about 6.8 mm on a day it rains. ^[12]

Rainfall measured at RIOUX MARTIN, 3.1 km away at 81 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[12]

Uncertainties

sources disagree on Restaurant

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 16073/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
Commune website 2026-10— https://www.chalais.net/Vie_pratique.html— “Marché Hebdomadaire tous les lundis matins”
DATAtourisme 2026-06— https://data.datatourisme.fr/13/a0e17f5b-1de6-34ce-b3e3-ffa582f034d5— “Le 1er lundi du mois, il se transforme en foire.”
DATAtourisme 2026-06— https://data.datatourisme.fr/13/160c0f0b-616c-345c-9eec-d6b00a205a8a— “Tous les jeudis matins au rond point de St-Christophe se tient un petit marché d'approvisionnement.”
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 16073/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 16073/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 16073/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 16073
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
Espéraza	11	313 km SE	1,774	58.3	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 62 % · winter 74 % · humidity 79 %
Val-de-Meuse	52	515 km NE	1,801	52.2	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 56 % · winter 57 % · humidity 79 %
Saint-Germain-du-Bois	71	434 km NE	1,977	54.2	Partly served	Similar summers, colder winters.summer 92 % · winter 62 %
Reuilly	36	254 km NE	1,984	50.5	Partly served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 77 % · winter 91 % · humidity 79 %
Montguyon	17	19 km W	1,705	61.5	Served	Much the same temperatures.summer 97 % · winter 97 %
Montbron	16	57 km NE	2,000	64.9	Served	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 77 % · winter 89 % · humidity 86 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Montguyon	17	19 km W	1,705	61.5	Served	Much the same temperatures.summer 97 % · winter 97 %
Montbron	16	57 km NE	2,000	64.9	Served	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 77 % · winter 89 % · humidity 86 %
Reuilly	36	254 km NE	1,984	50.5	Partly served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 77 % · winter 91 % · humidity 79 %
Espéraza	11	313 km SE	1,774	58.3	Partly served	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 62 % · winter 74 % · humidity 79 %
Saint-Germain-du-Bois	71	434 km NE	1,977	54.2	Partly served	Similar summers, colder winters.summer 92 % · winter 62 %
Val-de-Meuse	52	515 km NE	1,801	52.2	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 56 % · winter 57 % · humidity 79 %

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 Chalais'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
Beauvoir-sur-Niort	79	109 km N	1,765	53	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 95 % · humidity 86 %
Richelieu	37	195 km N	1,598	59.2	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 92 % · humidity 93 %
Matha	17	72 km NW	2,191	72	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Luzy	58	347 km NE	2,006	67.2	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 85 % · humidity 86 %
Mansle-les-Fontaines	16	68 km N	2,088	62	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 85 % · humidity 100 %
Avoine	37	215 km N	2,067	51.8	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 96 % · humidity 93 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/16073-chalais