Last modified: 2024-04-06 by olivier touzeau
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![[Flag]](../images/f/fr-33-mp.gif)
Flag of Marcheprime - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 27 April 2022
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Marcheprime (5,367 inhabitants in 2021; 2,456 ha) is a commune in the Gironde department.
The rise of Marcheprime dates from the 19th century. Like the other municipalities in the area, the economy of Marcheprime was first marked by the agro-pastoral system, before the extension of the forest to the whole territory during the second half of the 19th century. The railway arrived in Marcheprime in 1841, during the construction of the Bordeaux-La Teste line. Through the Compagnie des Chemins de fer du Midi, the Pereire brothers ( major figures in the development of France's finance and infrastructure during the Second French Empire) leased the line from Bordeaux to La Teste on March 27, 1852. They acquired 10,000 ha of moorland and undertook to transform this area into a pine forest. At that time, Marcheprime was only a locality attached to the municipality of Biganos. There are only a few houses and a roadside inn. The economy then turns to the exploitation of the gem and its distillation. The Marcheprime factory distills pine resin to produce turpentine called “La Landaise”. In 1862, Émile Pereire had a church built; in 1863, Marcheprime was then made up of a church, a school, a teacher's house and a presbytery. Émile Pereire requested that the locality be erected as a commune, but it was not until 1946 that Marcheprime officially became a commune.
In 1903, at the Croix d'Hins, an aerodrome was built by the company of Louis Blériot and the Voisin brothers. Blériot tested his airplanes there.
It is also on the site of the Croix d'Hins that the station Radio Bordeaux Lafayette was built on the initiative of the American army in 1918 to compensate for the lack of telephone communications between France and the United States during the First World War. The installation was only completed in 1920. Telecommunications are carried out using eight pylons 250 m high supporting a flat antenna 400 m wide by 1,200 m long. Covering an area of 486 hectares, the station was occupied by the Germans during the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine exploited it to communicate with U-Boats and this until 1944 when it was partially destroyed upon the arrival of the allies. The last pylon was knocked down in 1953.
The commune of Marcheprime was particularly affected during the fire in the Landes forest of 1949. In total, the fire ravaged 50,000 ha and led to the death of 82 people, including 57 civilians and 6 in Marcheprime. The fire was stopped at Croix d'Hins. It is still the biggest fire the town has ever seen.
Olivier Touzeau, 27 April 2022
The flag of the commune is white with the current logo, adopted in 2017: photo (2018), photo (2018), photo (2019).
Olivier Touzeau, 27 April 2022
The logo, designed by the Aggelos communication agency, is based on the strong and simple graphical element, the "M" of "Marcheprime".
The modern isometric composition represents diversity within unity and the components of the town (associations, companies, services) in the service of the municipality. Marcheprime is located in its heart, in the center of the composition. It shines and illuminates the graphical element like a jewel. A rich and dynamic color spectrum highlights the innovation spirit and the dynamism of the town. The colors have a strong symbolic, as a wink to the privileged location of the town, between the Bordeaux Metropolis, the pinewood and the Arcachon Basin.
The new signature '"A Town in the Heart") is the genuine backbone of political commitment for the town: a town in the heart of culture, a town in the heart of solidarity. [source: Aggelos agency]
Ivan Sache, 28 April 2022
![[Flag]](../images/f/fr-33-mp1.gif)
Former flag of Marcheprime - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 27 April 2022
The former flag was white with logo: photo (2012).
Olivier Touzeau, 27 April 2022