Alleins
Alleins is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as "Alleinois" or "Alleinoises" Geography. Alleins is located some 45 km south-east of Avignon and 10 km north-east of Salon-de-Provence. It can be accessed by the D16 road from Salon-de-Provence which passes through the village and continues north-east to Mallemort. The D23 road from Lamanon to Mallemort also passes through the north of the commune. The Électricité de France Canal passes through the north of  the commune from west to east. Most of the commune is farmland but the whole area south of the village is heavily forested. The TGV Railway line from Avignon to Marseille passes through the commune but there is no station. History. In April 1545, during the wars of religion, Alleins was pillaged by troops of Paulin de la Garde under the direction of Jean Maynier, the lord of Oppede and first president of the Parliament of Aix. The land was confiscated and the people massacred. French Revolution. A "Committee of Revolutionary Surveillance" was established in Alleins in 1793. It was  made up partly of simple peasants who were sometimes illiterate and this institution somehow marked the democratic heyday of the Revolution. Illiterate members took their place in the debates and in turn occupied the place of president. The committee in charge of monitoring the implementation of laws devoted much of their time to reading, copying, and discussing their scope thus contributing to the political and democratic education of citizens. In their primary mission, to arrest suspects, they were very cautious and legalistic unlike the tyrannical reputation of these committees. They also defended the village community, for example in the case  of the statue of Equality which was overturned in June 1794. After investigation, a committee member after meeting the Représentant en mission Maignet spared any untoward consequence for the commune. Administration. List of Successive Mayors Culture and heritage. Civil heritage. The commune has two sites that are registered as historical monuments: Religious heritage. The commune has two religious sites that are registered as historical monuments: