Carqueiranne (, ; or ) is a
commune in the
Var department,
administrative region
Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
of
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...
(historically
Provence
Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
), Southeastern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
It is known now as a tourist seaside resort with good windsurfing nearby, at Almanarre Beach.
Demographics
Saint-Exupéry
The town has a literary claim to fame as well. In early August 1944, an unidentifiable body wearing French military colours was found near here, which was long believed to be that of famous novelist
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, vicomte de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), known simply as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ), was a French writer, poet, journalist and aviator.
Born in Lyon to an French nobility, aristocratic ...
, author of
The Little Prince
''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published po ...
.
In 1998, a bracelet known to be his, with a fragment of cloth still attached, was found in the sea east of Riou Island (south of
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
). In 2000, a crashed
P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...
was found in the seabed off the coast of Marseille, near where the bracelet was found, and it was confirmed to be the one that Saint-Exupéry was flying.
However, it remains plausible that ocean currents could have carried the body from the crash site to Carqueiranne - a distance less than by sea - over the course of several days, which is the time difference between the crash on 31 July 1944, and the discovery of the body.
See also
*
Communes of the Var department
The following is a list of the 153 Communes of France, communes of the Var (department), Var Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 2025 ...
References
External links
Official site
Communes of Var (department)
Populated coastal places in France
{{Var-geo-stub