SISTERON
Capital of a canton in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Nickname: Pearl of Haute-Provence, Gateway to Provence.
Population: 7,850 inhabitants (Sisteronnais, Sisteronnaises). 25,000 inhabitants in the Sisteronais Buëch community of communes.
Notable figures: Paul Arène (writer), Jean Baptiste d'Ornano (Marshal of France), Corinne Le Poulain (actress), Franz-Olivier Giesbert (journalist and writer).
Specialities: lamb, pieds et paquets, Banon goat’s cheese, Golden Delicious apples from the Alps, calissons.
Culture: Terre et Temps Municipal Museum. Sisteron Region Ecomuseum. Festivals: Nuits de la Citadelle.
Sport: 43 clubs (6,000 members)
Economy: agri-food (slaughterhouses), pharmaceutical industry (Sanofi-Aventis), hydroelectric power stations. Construction. Tourism.
Awards: ‘Ville Fleurie’ (3 flowers), ‘Les Plus Beaux Détours de France’
Websites: www.sisteron.com / www.letourdefrance.sisteron.fr
FOOD
Sisteron Lamb
Originating in a region with a long tradition of sheep farming, the Agneau de Sisteron designation first appeared in the 1920s and 1930s on the initiative of local farmers from Sisteron. In the 1930s, Josephine Baker is said to have been one of the first to savour the tender meat of Sisteron lamb at the prestigious dining table of the transatlantic liner Normandie. At that time, a far-sighted sheep farmer, Maurice Richaud, decided to launch Sisteron lamb. On the Côte d’Azur, where tourism was beginning to develop, Sisteron lamb enjoyed a surge in popularity that has never waned. The town of Sisteron, situated at the heart of the historic production area, has always been at the centre of livestock trade between the Alps and the plains and hills of Provence and the Mediterranean. This is why its abattoir became one of the hubs of the sheep industry and the leading sheep abattoir in France. On 26 June 2003, the INAO approved the Sisteron Lamb PGI application. On 15 February 2007, the European Union officially validated the protection procedure for Sisteron Lamb, thereby enabling the entire sector to benefit from this European recognition.