Prailles-La Couarde

Deux-Sèvres · CC Mellois en Poitou · INSEE 79217

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

Few services 28.4/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 29 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Prailles-La Couarde (INSEE 79217) is in Deux-Sèvres (79), part of CC Mellois en Poitou. Population 929 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Rural à habitat dispersé (level 6). ^[2]

Commune nouvelle formed on 2019-01-01 from 1 former commune: La Couarde (79098). ^[3]

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/79217-prailles-la-couarde

Vitality score

Vitality score 28.4/100 — Few services (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 29 % of the 14,789 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	0.21	25	5.27
Social	0	20	0
Education	0.63	10	6.32
Health	0	10	0
Public & culture	0.63	5	3.16
Population trend	0.56	10	5.57
Housing mix	0.76	5	3.8

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 1 of 6

Eating out 0 of 1

Cafés and bars 0 of 1

Schools 1 of 3

Health 0 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 1 of 2

Sport 0 of 2

Everyday services 1 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 and a school, but nowhere to eat or drink. ^[4,5]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (LES AMOURETTES DE PRAILLES). ^[4,5]

1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE PRIMAIRE PUBLIQUE DE PRAILLES-LA-COUARDE). ^[4]

1 × Post office / agence postale (PRAILLES RP). ^[4]

1 × Library (BIBLIOTHEQUE DE PRAILLES). ^[4]

2 × Hairdresser. ^[4,5]

1 × Campsite (OLYDEA DOMAINE DU LAMBON). ^[4]

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Supermarket, Restaurant, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy. ^[4,5]

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,5]
Butcher (boucherie)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,5]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	1	LES AMOURETTES DE PRAILLES	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 1 [4,5]
Supermarket	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,5]
Cheese shop (fromagerie)	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [5]
Fishmonger	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,5]
Restaurant	0		INSEE SIRENE 2 / INSEE BPE 0 [5]
Café / bar	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [5]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [4]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE PRIMAIRE PUBLIQUE DE PRAILLES-LA-COUARDE	INSEE BPE 1 [4]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [4]
GP (médecin généraliste)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [4]
Pharmacy	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,5]
Nurse	0		INSEE BPE 0 [4]
Dentist	0		INSEE BPE 0 [4]
Post office / agence postale	1	PRAILLES RP	INSEE BPE 1 [4]
Library	1	BIBLIOTHEQUE DE PRAILLES	INSEE BPE 1 [4]
Cinema	0		INSEE BPE 0 [4]
Gym / sports hall	0		INSEE BPE 0 [4]
Swimming pool	0		INSEE BPE 0 [4]
Bank	0		INSEE BPE 0 [4]
Hairdresser	2		INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [4,5]
Fuel station	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4,5]
Hotel	0		INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [5]
Campsite	1	OLYDEA DOMAINE DU LAMBON	INSEE BPE 1 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

1968: 1,052 2023: 929 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 939 (2012) → 929 (2023): -1.1 % over 10 years. ^[6,1]

Population 879 (1990) → 929 (2023): 5.7 % over 30 years. ^[7,1]

Dwellings (2023): 499, of which 12 % second homes and 8.4 % vacant. ^[8]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

In the commune Food shop Primary school — 1.7 km SWBakery — 3.3 km SWGP — 5.7 km WPharmacy — 6.1 km SW 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 (Aigondigné): 3.3 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[9]

Food shop (Prailles-La Couarde): 0.1 km to the east (straight line). ^[10]

GP (Fressines): 5.7 km to the west (straight line). ^[11]

Pharmacy (Aigondigné): 6.1 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[9]

Primary school (Prailles-La Couarde): 1.7 km to the south-west (straight line). ^[10]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 29.3

Days at or below 0 °C 49.1

Muggy days a summer 2.7

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 29 days a year at or above 30 °C and 49 days at or below 0 °C, over 20 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[12]

Measured at the CELLES-SUR-BELL weather station, 6.8 km away at 118 m; the village itself is at 149 m. ^[12]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 3 days a summer. ^[12]

Humidity measured at MELLE, 11 km away at 136 m, over 30 summers. ^[12]

An average of 901 mm of rain a year, spread over 127 days — about 7.1 mm on a day it rains. ^[12]

Rainfall measured at CELLES-SUR-BELL, 6.8 km away at 118 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[12]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 79217/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE COG 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 79217/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 79217/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 79217/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 79185
INSEE BPE 2025 — 79217
INSEE BPE 2025 — 79129
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
Villechenève	69	361 km E	922	34.1	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 49 % · winter 82 % · humidity 86 %
La Gresle	42	348 km E	857	29.6	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 67 % · winter 81 % · humidity 86 %
Blancafort	18	248 km NE	998	28.2	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 67 % · winter 88 % · humidity 100 %
Champsevraine	52	465 km E	719	28.1	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 62 % · winter 82 % · humidity 100 %
Vérac	33	148 km S	883	33	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 97 % · winter 77 % · humidity 14 %
Monferran-Savès	32	317 km S	790	31.7	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 67 % · winter 99 % · humidity 71 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Vérac	33	148 km S	883	33	Few services	Similar summers, milder winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 97 % · winter 77 % · humidity 14 %
Blancafort	18	248 km NE	998	28.2	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 67 % · winter 88 % · humidity 100 %
Monferran-Savès	32	317 km S	790	31.7	Few services	Warmer summers, similar winters.Summers feel more humid.summer 67 % · winter 99 % · humidity 71 %
La Gresle	42	348 km E	857	29.6	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 67 % · winter 81 % · humidity 86 %
Villechenève	69	361 km E	922	34.1	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 49 % · winter 82 % · humidity 86 %
Champsevraine	52	465 km E	719	28.1	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 62 % · winter 82 % · humidity 100 %

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 Prailles-La Couarde'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
Argentine	73	514 km E	959	26.4	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 89 % · humidity 86 %
Saint-Étienne-le-Molard	42	339 km E	1,033	32.1	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 91 % · humidity 100 %
Trois-Palis	16	78 km S	944	33	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 89 % · humidity 93 %
Neuvy-Grandchamp	71	320 km E	752	31.6	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 85 % · humidity 86 %
Cassagne	31	368 km S	641	26.2	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 97 % · winter 89 % · humidity 86 %
La Jaudonnière	85	67 km NW	670	25.4	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 87 % · 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/79217-prailles-la-couarde