# Villefranche-sur-Saône

Villefranche-sur-Saône (US: /ˌviːl(ə)ˈfrɒ̃ʃ sʊər ˈsoʊn/, French: ; Arpitan: Velafranche) is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.
It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the river Saône, and is around 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of Lyon. The inhabitants of the town are called Caladois.

## History

Villefranche-sur-Saône was founded in 1212 by Guichard IV, count of Beaujeu (Arpitan: Bôjor/Biôjœr), and became in the 14th century the capital of the Beaujolais (Arpitan: Biôjolês) province. It endured three sieges in the 15th and 16th centuries. The town walls were taken down early in the 19th century.

## Population

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Villefranche-sur-Saône proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Villefranche-sur-Saône absorbed the former communes of Béligny and Ouilly (partly) in 1853.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1793 | 4,706 | — |
| 1800 | 4,374 | −1.04% |
| 1806 | 5,095 | +2.58% |
| 1821 | 5,250 | +0.20% |
| 1831 | 6,460 | +2.10% |
| 1836 | 7,533 | +3.12% |
| 1841 | 6,848 | −1.89% |
| 1846 | 7,064 | +0.62% |
| 1851 | 7,769 | +1.92% |
| 1856 | 11,686 | +8.51% |
| 1861 | 11,650 | −0.06% |
| 1866 | 12,469 | +1.37% |
| 1872 | 12,170 | −0.40% |
| 1876 | 12,485 | +0.64% |
| 1881 | 13,074 | +0.93% |
| 1886 | 12,518 | −0.87% |
| 1891 | 12,928 | +0.65% |
| 1896 | 13,627 | +1.06% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1901 | 14,793 | +1.66% |
| 1906 | 16,031 | +1.62% |
| 1911 | 16,388 | +0.44% |
| 1921 | 16,588 | +0.12% |
| 1926 | 17,339 | +0.89% |
| 1931 | 18,188 | +0.96% |
| 1936 | 18,871 | +0.74% |
| 1946 | 20,017 | +0.59% |
| 1954 | 21,703 | +1.02% |
| 1962 | 24,516 | +1.54% |
| 1968 | 26,338 | +1.20% |
| 1975 | 30,341 | +2.04% |
| 1982 | 28,881 | −0.70% |
| 1990 | 29,542 | +0.28% |
| 1999 | 30,647 | +0.41% |
| 2007 | 33,840 | +1.25% |
| 2012 | 36,241 | +1.38% |
| 2017 | 36,857 | +0.34% |
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. :
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017) :

## Economy

Industries include wine-trading, metallurgy, textiles, and chemicals.

## Transport

The Autoroute du Sud (the principal road from Paris to the south of France) is adjacent to the east of the town, running alongside the Saône.

## Buildings

The church of Notre-Dame des Marais, begun at the end of the 14th and finished in the 16th century, has a tower and spire (rebuilt in 1862), standing to the right of the 15th century façade, in which are carved wooden doors.

## Sport

FC Villefranche Beaujolais is based in the town.

## Notable people

* Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), Jesuit priest and scientist, attended school here in 1892–1897
* Maurice Baquet (1911–2005), actor and cellist
* François Picard (1921–1996), racing driver
* Christian Lavieille (born 1965), racing driver
* Benjamin Biolay (born 1973), singer, songwriter and musician
* Coralie Clément (born 1978), singer
* Grégory Bettiol (born 1986), footballer

## Twin towns – sister cities

Villefranche-sur-Saône is twinned with:
* Bertinoro, Italy
* Bühl, Germany
* Călărași District, Moldova
* Kandi, Benin
* Schkeuditz, Germany

## Climate

Climate data for Villefranche-sur-Saône (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1934–present) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 19.1 (66.4) | 23.1 (73.6) | 27.7 (81.9) | 32.0 (89.6) | 40.0 (104.0) | 41.0 (105.8) | 43.5 (110.3) | 43.0 (109.4) | 36.0 (96.8) | 31.6 (88.9) | 23.3 (73.9) | 19.9 (67.8) | 43.5 (110.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.6 (45.7) | 9.6 (49.3) | 14.4 (57.9) | 18.4 (65.1) | 22.6 (72.7) | 26.7 (80.1) | 28.8 (83.8) | 28.5 (83.3) | 23.8 (74.8) | 18.1 (64.6) | 11.6 (52.9) | 8.0 (46.4) | 18.2 (64.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.2 (39.6) | 5.3 (41.5) | 9.0 (48.2) | 12.5 (54.5) | 16.7 (62.1) | 20.5 (68.9) | 22.5 (72.5) | 22.0 (71.6) | 17.9 (64.2) | 13.4 (56.1) | 8.0 (46.4) | 4.8 (40.6) | 13.1 (55.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.9 (33.6) | 1.0 (33.8) | 3.6 (38.5) | 6.6 (43.9) | 10.8 (51.4) | 14.3 (57.7) | 16.2 (61.2) | 15.5 (59.9) | 12.0 (53.6) | 8.6 (47.5) | 4.4 (39.9) | 1.6 (34.9) | 8.0 (46.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −21.9 (−7.4) | −19.0 (−2.2) | −11.5 (11.3) | −5.0 (23.0) | −0.8 (30.6) | 3.7 (38.7) | 4.9 (40.8) | 5.0 (41.0) | 0.5 (32.9) | −4.9 (23.2) | −8.5 (16.7) | −16.2 (2.8) | −21.9 (−7.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 48.3 (1.90) | 37.9 (1.49) | 46.9 (1.85) | 62.6 (2.46) | 73.5 (2.89) | 73.6 (2.90) | 77.1 (3.04) | 71.0 (2.80) | 68.2 (2.69) | 89.9 (3.54) | 88.4 (3.48) | 53.5 (2.11) | 790.9 (31.14) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 9.2 | 8.2 | 8.5 | 9.1 | 10.3 | 8.4 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 10.2 | 9.9 | 106.8 |
| Source: Meteociel ||||||||||||||