# Saint-Girons, Ariège

Saint-Girons (French pronunciation: ; Languedocien: Sent Gironç) is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.

## History
### Antiquity

Unlike its close neighbour Saint-Lizier, Saint-Girons isn't an ancient city; there was however a lucus on its present territory where some Roman finds were made during the construction of the train station in the beginning of the twentieth century. Modern-days district Le Luc is considered to owe its name to this ancient lucus.

### Foundation

The city is named after Saint Girons, a saint from fifth-century Landes who evangelized Novempopulania. In the ninth century some of his relics were supposedly buried in Saint Girons' Church, around which the city later developed.

## Climate

Saint-Girons has a moderate but warm oceanic climate, that is quite prone to temporary vast extremes in temperature as a result of its inland position.
Climate data for Saint-Girons, Ariège, elevation 414 m (1,358 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1949–present) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 22.5 (72.5) | 31.2 (88.2) | 29.0 (84.2) | 29.6 (85.3) | 32.1 (89.8) | 38.9 (102.0) | 38.2 (100.8) | 39.2 (102.6) | 36.5 (97.7) | 33.7 (92.7) | 26.4 (79.5) | 25.0 (77.0) | 39.2 (102.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 10.5 (50.9) | 11.5 (52.7) | 14.7 (58.5) | 16.7 (62.1) | 20.0 (68.0) | 23.4 (74.1) | 25.5 (77.9) | 26.1 (79.0) | 23.1 (73.6) | 19.3 (66.7) | 13.8 (56.8) | 11.2 (52.2) | 18.0 (64.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.5 (41.9) | 6.3 (43.3) | 9.0 (48.2) | 11.1 (52.0) | 14.6 (58.3) | 18.0 (64.4) | 20.0 (68.0) | 20.3 (68.5) | 17.1 (62.8) | 13.7 (56.7) | 8.7 (47.7) | 6.2 (43.2) | 12.5 (54.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.5 (32.9) | 1.0 (33.8) | 3.3 (37.9) | 5.5 (41.9) | 9.1 (48.4) | 12.6 (54.7) | 14.6 (58.3) | 14.5 (58.1) | 11.2 (52.2) | 8.1 (46.6) | 3.6 (38.5) | 1.1 (34.0) | 7.1 (44.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −18.7 (−1.7) | −16.5 (2.3) | −12.8 (9.0) | −4.2 (24.4) | −1.2 (29.8) | 2.2 (36.0) | 5.2 (41.4) | 4.7 (40.5) | 1.3 (34.3) | −4.0 (24.8) | −10.2 (13.6) | −12.3 (9.9) | −18.7 (−1.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 82.3 (3.24) | 68.6 (2.70) | 73.6 (2.90) | 103.7 (4.08) | 106.6 (4.20) | 78.1 (3.07) | 59.0 (2.32) | 67.4 (2.65) | 73.1 (2.88) | 82.0 (3.23) | 98.6 (3.88) | 80.2 (3.16) | 973.2 (38.31) |
| Average precipitation days | 10.7 | 9.9 | 10.4 | 12.1 | 12.2 | 9.7 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 9.9 | 11.0 | 10.1 | 121.1 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 116.3 | 128.9 | 169.0 | 170.9 | 183.4 | 193.0 | 210.9 | 209.3 | 193.3 | 156.7 | 119.4 | 112.9 | 1,963.8 |
| Source 1: Météo France ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: Infoclimat.fr (humidity and snowy days, 1961–1990) ||||||||||||||

## Population

Inhabitants of Saint-Girons are called Saint-Gironnais.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1793 | 2,749 | — |
| 1800 | 3,054 | +1.51% |
| 1806 | 3,348 | +1.54% |
| 1821 | 3,868 | +0.97% |
| 1831 | 4,381 | +1.25% |
| 1836 | 4,282 | −0.46% |
| 1841 | 3,901 | −1.85% |
| 1846 | 4,142 | +1.21% |
| 1851 | 3,981 | −0.79% |
| 1856 | 4,005 | +0.12% |
| 1861 | 4,576 | +2.70% |
| 1866 | 4,745 | +0.73% |
| 1872 | 4,690 | −0.19% |
| 1876 | 4,953 | +1.37% |
| 1881 | 5,191 | +0.94% |
| 1886 | 5,459 | +1.01% |
| 1891 | 5,448 | −0.04% |
| 1896 | 5,915 | +1.66% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1901 | 6,018 | +0.35% |
| 1906 | 5,990 | −0.09% |
| 1911 | 5,929 | −0.20% |
| 1921 | 5,749 | −0.31% |
| 1926 | 6,178 | +1.45% |
| 1931 | 6,120 | −0.19% |
| 1936 | 6,406 | +0.92% |
| 1946 | 7,026 | +0.93% |
| 1954 | 6,841 | −0.33% |
| 1962 | 7,368 | +0.93% |
| 1968 | 7,971 | +1.32% |
| 1975 | 8,130 | +0.28% |
| 1982 | 7,260 | −1.60% |
| 1990 | 6,596 | −1.19% |
| 1999 | 6,254 | −0.59% |
| 2007 | 6,552 | +0.58% |
| 2012 | 6,346 | −0.64% |
| 2017 | 6,383 | +0.12% |
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968–2017) :

## Sport

Stage 8 of the 2009 Tour de France finished in Saint-Girons, after travelling 176 km from Andorra la Vella.
Stage 9 of the 2013 Tour de France started here.