Bessèges

Gard · CC de Cèze Cévennes · INSEE 30037

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

Served 63.3/100 · confidence: medium· Better served than 95 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Bessèges (INSEE 30037) is in Gard (30), part of CC de Cèze Cévennes. Population 2,606 (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/30037-besseges

Vitality score

Vitality score 63.3/100 — Served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: medium (sources disagree on Restaurant).

Better served than 95 % of the 7,985 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	0.63	25	15.75
Social	0.98	20	19.63
Education	0.63	10	6.32
Health	0.39	10	3.93
Public & culture	0.39	5	1.97
Population trend	0.22	10	2.17
Housing mix	0.81	5	4.04

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 4 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 1 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]

4 × Bakery (boulangerie) (BOULANGERIE BERTRAND · SAKURA HWA & LK LA MAISON DU MAITRE PATISSIER · LAVERGNE MATTHEW-MOERIS). ^[3,4]

1 × Butcher (boucherie). ^[3,4]

2 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (CEZE DISCOUNT · ALD16). ^[3,4]

1 × Supermarket (CARREFOUR MARKET). ^[3,4]

8 × Restaurant (KINE BURGER · LA CASITA · TONTON PIZZA · LE BON LILA · L'EVASION). ^[3,4]

8 × Café / bar (ENTRACT'BAR · BAR RESTAURANT DE LA PLACETTE · BAR DU MARCHE · A LA MAISON). ^[4]

1 × Nursery school (maternelle) (ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE HECTOR MALOT). ^[3]

2 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PETIT VILLARD · ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE LA CANTONADE). ^[3]

1 × Collège (COLLEGE LE CASTELLAS). ^[3]

1 × GP (médecin généraliste) (VERONIQUE JACQUOT, MÉDECIN). ^[3]

1 × Pharmacy. ^[3,4]

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

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHEQUE DE BESSÈGES BIBLIOTHÈQUE MUNICIPALE). ^[3]

1 × Gym / sports hall (HALLE DES SPORTS DE BESSEGES). ^[3]

1 × Bank (CAISSE D'EPARGNE). ^[3]

3 × Hairdresser (NUANCE'S · LE VIP COIFFURE). ^[3,4]

2 × Fuel station (STATION SERVICE). ^[3,4]

1 × Campsite (CAMPING MUNICIPAL DE LA PLAINE). ^[3,4]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 3 × Bakery (boulangerie), 1 × Butcher (boucherie), 1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette), 2 × Restaurant, 1 × Pharmacy, 1 × Hairdresser.

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	4	BOULANGERIE BERTRAND · SAKURA HWA & LK LA MAISON DU MAITRE PATISSIER · LAVERGNE MATTHEW-MOERIS	INSEE BPE 4 / INSEE SIRENE 4 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	1		INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	2	CEZE DISCOUNT · ALD16	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 3 [3,4]
Supermarket	1	CARREFOUR MARKET	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	8	KINE BURGER · LA CASITA · TONTON PIZZA · LE BON LILA · L'EVASION	INSEE BPE 8 / INSEE SIRENE 18 [3,4]
Café / bar	8	ENTRACT'BAR · BAR RESTAURANT DE LA PLACETTE · BAR DU MARCHE · A LA MAISON	INSEE SIRENE 8 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	1	ECOLE MATERNELLE PUBLIQUE HECTOR MALOT	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	2	ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PETIT VILLARD · ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE LA CANTONADE	INSEE BPE 2 [3]
Collège	1	COLLEGE LE CASTELLAS	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	1	VERONIQUE JACQUOT, MÉDECIN	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Pharmacy	1		INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [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	BIBLIOTHEQUE DE BESSÈGES BIBLIOTHÈQUE MUNICIPALE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Cinema	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Gym / sports hall	1	HALLE DES SPORTS DE BESSEGES	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Swimming pool	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Bank	1	CAISSE D'EPARGNE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Hairdresser	3	NUANCE'S · LE VIP COIFFURE	INSEE BPE 3 / INSEE SIRENE 3 [3,4]
Fuel station	2	STATION SERVICE	INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Hotel	0		INSEE SIRENE 2 / INSEE BPE 0 [4]
Campsite	1	CAMPING MUNICIPAL DE LA PLAINE	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [3,4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

1968: 6,121 2023: 2,606 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 3,051 (2012) → 2,606 (2023): -14.6 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 3,635 (1990) → 2,606 (2023): -28.3 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 2,017, of which 9.6 % second homes and 23.1 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Bakery, Food shop, Primary school, GP Pharmacy — 2.5 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 (Bessèges): 0.2 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Bessèges): 0.4 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Bessèges): 0.4 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Robiac-Rochessadoule): 2.5 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Bessèges): 0.2 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 52.3▸

Days at or below 0 °C 10.1▸

Muggy days a summer 3.5

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

Measured at the LA GRAND COMBE weather station, 8.6 km away at 499 m; the village itself is at 176 m. ^[10]

The village sits 323 m below the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 5.7 °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 4 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at LA GRAND COMBE, 8.6 km away at 499 m, over 23 summers. ^[10]

That station sits 323 m above the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.26 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[10]

An average of 1,366 mm of rain a year, spread over 84 days — about 16.3 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at LA GRAND COMBE, 8.6 km away at 499 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

Uncertainties

sources disagree on Restaurant

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 30037/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 30037/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 30037/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 30037/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 30037
INSEE BPE 2025 — 30216
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
Noyers-sur-Cher	41	392 km NW	2,631	62.3	Served	Cooler summers and colder winters.summer 18 % · winter 32 %
Bourbon-l'Archambault	03	267 km N	2,494	66.7	Served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 21 % · winter 46 % · humidity 79 %
Bort-les-Orgues	19	176 km NW	2,483	64.6	Served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 15 % · winter 45 % · humidity 86 %
Prayssac	46	232 km W	2,519	69.8	Served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 74 % · winter 53 % · humidity 50 %
Samatan	32	269 km W	2,517	78.3	Served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 46 % · winter 91 % · humidity 64 %
Fraize	88	487 km NE	2,843	59.8	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 3 % · winter 0 % · humidity 79 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Bort-les-Orgues	19	176 km NW	2,483	64.6	Served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 15 % · winter 45 % · humidity 86 %
Prayssac	46	232 km W	2,519	69.8	Served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 74 % · winter 53 % · humidity 50 %
Bourbon-l'Archambault	03	267 km N	2,494	66.7	Served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 21 % · winter 46 % · humidity 79 %
Samatan	32	269 km W	2,517	78.3	Served	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 46 % · winter 91 % · humidity 64 %
Noyers-sur-Cher	41	392 km NW	2,631	62.3	Served	Cooler summers and colder winters.summer 18 % · winter 32 %
Fraize	88	487 km NE	2,843	59.8	Partly served	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 3 % · winter 0 % · 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 Bessèges'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
Caderousse	84	57 km E	2,493	61.3	Served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 86 % · humidity 93 %
Courthézon	84	67 km E	6,426	53.8	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Just-d'Ardèche	07	42 km E	1,577	56.3	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · winter 86 % · humidity 93 %
Mirabel-aux-Baronnies	26	80 km E	1,502	46	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 88 % · humidity 86 %
Peri	2A	467 km SE	2,044	51	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 99 % · humidity 86 %
Saint-Saturnin-lès-Avignon	84	77 km SE	5,206	59	Partly served	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 86 % · humidity 100 %

Elsewhere

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

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/30037-besseges