{{Short description|Subprefecture, commune, and the center of the largest metropolitan area in Guadeloupe}}{{Infobox French commune |name = Pointe-à-Pitre |native name = {{nativename|gcf|Pwentapit / Lapwent}} |commune status = [[Subprefectures in France|Subprefecture]] and [[Communes of France|commune]] |image = Pointe-à-Pitre.JPG |caption = A view of Pointe-à-Pitre, from the seaport |map = Locator map of Pointe-à-Pitre 2018.png |map caption = Location of the commune (in red) within Guadeloupe |image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe).svg |image flag = |arrondissement = Pointe-à-Pitre |canton = Pointe-à-Pitre |INSEE = 97120 |postal code = 97110 |mayor = Harry Durimel<ref name="mayor">{{cite web|title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires|url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503|website=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=2 December 2020|language=fr}}</ref> |term = 2020&ndash;2026 |intercommunality = [[Communauté d'agglomération CAP Excellence|CAP Excellence]] |coordinates = {{coord|16.2411|-61.5331|format=dms|display=inline,title}} |elevation m = |elevation min m = |elevation max m = |area km2 = 2.66 |population = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}} |population date = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}} |population footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}} |urban area km2 = 729.7 |urban area date = |urban pop = 250952 |urban pop date = 2018<ref name=insee/> }} '''Pointe-à-Pitre''' ({{IPA|fr|pwɛ̃tapitʁ}}; {{langx|gcf|Pwentapit|label=[[Guadeloupean Creole]]}}, {{IPA|gcf|pwɛ̃tapit|}}, or simply {{lang|gcf|Lapwent}}, {{IPA|gcf|lapwɛ̃t|}}) is the second most populous commune of [[Guadeloupe]] (after [[Les Abymes]]). Guadeloupe is an [[overseas region]] and [[Overseas department|department]] of [[France]] located in the [[Lesser Antilles]], of which it is a ''[[Subprefectures in France|sous-préfecture]]'', being the seat of the [[arrondissement of Pointe-à-Pitre]].

Although Pointe-à-Pitre is not Guadeloupe's administrative capital (that distinction goes to [[Basse-Terre]]), it is nonetheless the region's economic capital. The inhabitants are called "Pointois". In 2022, it had a population of 14,855 in the city ([[communes of France|commune]]) of Pointe-à-Pitre proper and 252,132 inhabitants in the [[urban unit]] Pointe-à-Pitre–Les Abymes.<ref name=insee>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/1405599?geo=UU2020-9A701+COM-97120 Comparateur de territoire], INSEE</ref> It is part of the [[functional area (France)|metropolitan area]] of Les Abymes.

[[Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport]], Guadeloupe's main international airport, is located {{convert|3|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of downtown Pointe-à-Pitre in the commune of [[Les Abymes]].

The current mayor of Pointe-à-Pitre is [[Harry Durimel]].<ref name="mayor" />

== Geography == Pointe-à-Pitre is situated on the southwest portion of the island of [[Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe|Grande-Terre]], facing the Caribbean Sea; it lies in the centre of Guadeloupe, and is near the Rivière Salée ("Salt River"), which separates Grande-Terre from [[Basse-Terre Island]]. The town of Pointe-à-Pitre is surrounded by the communes of [[Les Abymes]], [[Baie-Mahault]] and [[Le Gosier]]. Pointe-à-Pitre is on a [[limestone]] plateau, which was a factor for the construction of the city. The bay, Petit Cul-de-Sac Marin, offers a sheltered port.

== Name==

The name Pointe-à-Pitre, literally the "[[headland]] of Pitre", is popularly believed to derive from a Dutch sailor/fisherman called "Pieter", who may have settled in the 17th century on a promontory facing the ''Îlet à Cochon'' ("Hogs Islet"), just to the south of today's downtown Pointe-à-Pitre. The promontory came to be called "Pointe-à-Pieter" (the "headland of Peter") and later "Pointe-à-Pitre". However, this theory is now questioned by linguists, with a derivation from the Spanish word "pitera", meaning a type of rope made from agave, suggested as the true etymon of "pitre".<ref>{{Cite web |title=L'origine toponyme de Pointe-à-Pitre |trans-title=L'origine toponyme de Pointe-à-Pitre |url=http://www.ville-pointeapitre.fr/culture-et-histoire/?ARB_N_ID=362&MOD_N_ID=1&ART_N_ID=1072 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017121953/http://www.ville-pointeapitre.fr/culture-et-histoire/?ARB_N_ID=362&MOD_N_ID=1&ART_N_ID=1072 |archive-date=2007-10-17 |language=fr}}</ref>

== History == {{unreferencedsect|date=July 2022}} [[File:Ancien hôtel de ville de Pointe-à-Pitre 01.JPG|thumb|Former town hall of Pointe-à-Pitre]] French colonial authorities had long thought about establishing a city on the current location of Pointe-à-Pitre, at the junction of Guadeloupe's two main 'island' districts ([[Basse-Terre Island]] and [[Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe|Grande Terre]]), but several attempts around 1713-1730 failed due to the insalubrious swampy ground.

[[File:Plan de Pointe-à-Pitre en 1843.png|thumb|left|Plan of Pointe-à-Pitre (1843)]] During the [[Invasion of Guadeloupe (1759)|British occupation of Guadeloupe]] (1759–1763) a settlement appeared on a hill overlooking the swamps. After the return of Guadeloupe to France in 1763, the city of Pointe-à-Pitre was officially founded under governor [[Gabriel de Clieu]] in 1764 by royal edict, and the swamps where downtown Pointe-à-Pitre stands today were drained in the following years, thus allowing the urban development of the city.

The development of the city was relatively rapid, partly thanks to the [[French corsairs|corsairs]]. In 1780, however, a great fire entirely destroyed the city. Sixty-three years later, in 1843, it was again destroyed by an [[earthquake]]. The history of Pointe-à-Pitre is marked by many disasters: the fires of 1850, 1871 and 1931, the earthquakes of 1851 and 1897 and the [[hurricane]]s of 1865 and 1928. The city also experienced several epidemics of [[cholera]]. Its location and large sheltered port have nonetheless allowed Pointe-à-Pitre to become Guadeloupe's largest city and economic capital. :Further information: ''[[Travailleur socialiste]]''

==Population== {{Historical populations |source = INSEE<ref name=pophist>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/8643952?geo=COM-97120#tableau-POPREF_G1 Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023], INSEE</ref> |percentages = pagr |align = none |graph-pos = right |1967 |29522 |1974 |23889 |1982 |25310 |1990 |26029 |1999 |20948 |2007 |17408 |2012 |15598 |2017 |15923 |2023 |15040 }}

== Religion == [[File:Eglise Saint Pierre et Saint Paul - PA00105864 04.JPG|thumb|St Peter and Paul cathedral]] The former cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, Ancienne cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul, testifies that Pointe-à-Pitre has been the episcopal seat of a [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Pointe-à-Pitre]] on [[Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe|Grande-Terre]]. This was united with the present diocese for all Guadeloupe, at [[Basse-Terre]], in 1951, since when its full title has been [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre-Pointe-à-Pitre]].

== Climate == On the [[Köppen climate classification]], Pointe-à-Pitre is on the border between [[tropical monsoon climate]] (''Am'') and [[tropical rainforest climate]] (''Af''). Like any other Eastern Caribbean city, it experiences rainfall quite evenly spread during the year, with a wetter season between July and November which coincides with [[Atlantic hurricane season|the hurricane season]]. The city receives 1500–2000&nbsp;mm of rainfall annually. Tropical heat is the norm, bringing steady highs of around 32&nbsp;°C (89&nbsp;°F) that drop to 20&nbsp;°C (68&nbsp;°F) at night.

{{Weather box |location = [[Abymes]] adjacent to Pointe-à-Pitre ([[Le Raizet Airport]]) 1981–2010 averages, extremes 1950–present |metric first = Y |single line = Y |Jan record high C = 31.8 |Feb record high C = 32.1 |Mar record high C = 32.8 |Apr record high C = 33.3 |May record high C = 33.3 |Jun record high C = 33.4 |Jul record high C = 34.2 |Aug record high C = 34.2 |Sep record high C = 34.1 |Oct record high C = 34.1 |Nov record high C = 33.4 |Dec record high C = 32.4 |year record high C = 34.2 |Jan high C = 29.2 |Feb high C = 29.2 |Mar high C = 29.7 |Apr high C = 30.3 |May high C = 30.9 |Jun high C = 31.4 |Jul high C = 31.6 |Aug high C = 31.9 |Sep high C = 31.7 |Oct high C = 31.3 |Nov high C = 30.5 |Dec high C = 29.7 |year high C = 30.6 |Jan mean C = 24.9 |Feb mean C = 24.9 |Mar mean C = 25.3 |Apr mean C = 26.3 |May mean C = 27.2 |Jun mean C = 27.9 |Jul mean C = 28.0 |Aug mean C = 28.0 |Sep mean C = 27.8 |Oct mean C = 27.3 |Nov mean C = 26.5 |Dec mean C = 25.5 |year mean C = 26.6 |Jan low C = 20.7 |Feb low C = 20.6 |Mar low C = 21.0 |Apr low C = 22.2 |May low C = 23.6 |Jun low C = 24.3 |Jul low C = 24.3 |Aug low C = 24.1 |Sep low C = 23.8 |Oct low C = 23.3 |Nov low C = 22.4 |Dec low C = 21.3 |year low C = 22.6 |Jan record low C = 13.5 |Feb record low C = 13.0 |Mar record low C = 13.9 |Apr record low C = 15.8 |May record low C = 16.4 |Jun record low C = 18.9 |Jul record low C = 19.6 |Aug record low C = 19.8 |Sep record low C = 19.5 |Oct record low C = 19.0 |Nov record low C = 16.8 |Dec record low C = 14.4 |year record low C = 13.0 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 83.0 |Feb precipitation mm = 60.0 |Mar precipitation mm = 67.9 |Apr precipitation mm = 96.5 |May precipitation mm = 134.1 |Jun precipitation mm = 107.8 |Jul precipitation mm = 129.6 |Aug precipitation mm = 169.1 |Sep precipitation mm = 206.2 |Oct precipitation mm = 214.5 |Nov precipitation mm = 213.9 |Dec precipitation mm = 134.0 |year precipitation mm = 1616.6 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |Jan precipitation days = 15.83 |Feb precipitation days = 12.30 |Mar precipitation days = 11.10 |Apr precipitation days = 10.73 |May precipitation days = 13.07 |Jun precipitation days = 13.20 |Jul precipitation days = 15.20 |Aug precipitation days = 16.43 |Sep precipitation days = 16.27 |Oct precipitation days = 17.50 |Nov precipitation days = 17.40 |Dec precipitation days = 16.47 |year precipitation days = 175.50 |Jan sun = 192.4 |Feb sun = 182.7 |Mar sun = 217.5 |Apr sun = 211.4 |May sun = 212.7 |Jun sun = 206.5 |Jul sun = 198.3 |Aug sun = 221.5 |Sep sun = 200.6 |Oct sun = 181.7 |Nov sun = 181.4 |Dec sun = 189.1 |year sun = 2395.7 |source 1 = Meteo France<ref name=MFclimat1>{{cite web | url = http://www.meteofrance.com/climat/france/station/97101015/normales | title = Données climatiques de la station de Le Raizet | publisher = Meteo France | language = fr | access-date = December 17, 2014}}</ref><ref name=MFclimat2>{{cite web | url = http://www.meteofrance.com/climat/outremer/guadeloupe/971/normales | title = Climat Guadeloupe | publisher = Meteo France | access-date = December 17, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180330013217/https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_97101015.pdf | archive-date = 30 March 2018 | url = https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_97101015.pdf | title = Le Raizet Aero (971) | work = Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1981–2010 et records | publisher = Meteo France | language = fr | access-date = 29 March 2018}}</ref> |date=February 2011 }} The [[trade wind]]s blow from the northeast and often temper the climate.

== Urban area and demographics == The tiny [[communes of France|commune]] (municipality) of Pointe-à-Pitre is the center of a larger [[urban unit|urban area]] covering 11 communes.<ref name=coguu>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/geographie/unite-urbaine-2020/9A701-pointe-a-pitre-les-abymes Unité urbaine 2020 de Pointe-à-Pitre - Les Abymes (9A701)], INSEE</ref> This urban area – with 250,952 inhabitants at the 2018 census,<ref name=insee/> representing 65% of the population – is the largest in Guadeloupe and one of the largest among French Overseas territories and departments.

=== Communes === The eleven communes making up the urban area of Pointe-à-Pitre,<ref name=coguu/> with their populations in 2017,<ref name=pop2017>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/fichier/4265429/ensemble.pdf Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2017], [[Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques|INSEE]]</ref> are: * [[Les Abymes]]: 53,491 (Les Abymes being the most populated commune in the urban area and indeed in Guadeloupe, the urban area of Pointe-à-Pitre is also often called the "Pointe-à-Pitre-Les Abymes" urban area) * [[Baie-Mahault]]: 30,929 (the location of the urban area's main seaport and largest industrial park in the Lesser Antilles) * [[Le Gosier]]: 26,783 * [[Petit-Bourg]]: 24,277 * [[Sainte-Anne, Guadeloupe|Sainte-Anne]]: 23,675 * [[Le Moule]]: 22,150 * [[Morne-à-l'Eau]]: 17,434 * [[Lamentin]]: 16,573 * Pointe-à-Pitre: 15,923 (the historic, commercial and administrative heart of the urban area; facing competition from its suburbs, the congested commune of Pointe-à-Pitre has been losing businesses and inhabitants in the past years) * [[Saint-François, Guadeloupe|Saint-François]]: 12,816 * [[Petit-Canal]]: 8,220

== Economy == The city is the commercial capital of Guadeloupe, serving as the main port of call for cargo and passengers alike. The main seaport is the Port de Jarry located across the Bay of Cul-de-Sac Marin in the [[communes of France|commune]] (municipality) of [[Baie-Mahault]]. It has one of the biggest container terminals in the Eastern Caribbean with a quay 600m<ref>[http://www.kalmarind.com/show.php?id=26151 Kalmar Industries<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> long. The main exports are food crops (bananas, cocoa, coffee and sugar), animal products (beef, milk, yogurt) and manufactured goods (refined petroleum, textiles and medicines). The extensive Zone Industrielle de Jarry, directly west of Pointe-à-Pitre is a major centre of commercial and light industrial activity, notably for warehousing and distribution. Agricultural production continues in the east of the area where cattle rearing, banana and sugarcane growing continues. The nearby suburb of [[Le Gosier]] is Guadeloupe's main seaside resort.

Seventy percent of residents of Pointe-à-Pitre resided in subsidized [[public housing]] in 2009.<ref name=guardian3>{{cite news |first=Lizzy|last=Davies|title=Guadeloupe riots turn paradise into war zone as one protester shot dead |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/feb/18/nicolassarkozy-guadeloupe |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=2009-02-18 |access-date=2009-02-19}}</ref>

==Notable people == [[File:Musée Saint-John Perse 002.JPG|thumb|[[Saint-John Perse]] Museum.]] * [[Gilles Bloch]] - physician-scientist, former president of [[Inserm]] * [[Maryse Condé]] - writer * [[Saint-John Perse]] * [[Francky Vincent]] * [[Rodrigue Beaubois]] - NBA [[Dallas Mavericks]] player * [[Roch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian]] * [[Charles Lanrezac]], WW1 General, Commander of the 5th French Army, Grand Cross of the Légion d'Honneur * [[Jean-Marc Mormeck]], boxer * [[Auguste Plée]] * [[Firmine Richard]] * [[Jacques Schwarz-Bart]] * [[Louis-Gaston de Sonis]] - French Army officer * [[Lilian Thuram]] - former [[Juventus]] and [[FC Barcelona]] [[association football]] player. Won 142 caps for [[France national football team|France]] and the [[1998 FIFA World Cup]]. * [[Stéphane Zubar]] - [[AFC Bournemouth]] player * [[Laura Flessel-Colovic]] - 5-time Olympic medalist in [[épée]] fencing * [[Patricia Girard]] - 1996 Olympic Games silver medalist in 100m hurdles * [[Thierry Henry]] * [[Clotilde Armand]] - Romanian politician *[[Babette de Rozières]], TV chef and politician *[[Angela Aquereburu]], screenwriter, film producer and film director * [[Teddy Riner]] - 5-time Olympic gold medalist [[judoka]]

==Education== Public preschools in Pointe-à-Pitre commune include:<ref name=PSlist>"[http://www.ac-guadeloupe.fr/sites/default/files/liste_des_ecoles_publiques_et_privees_sous_contrat.pdf LISTE DES ECOLES PUBLIQUES ET PRIVEES SOUS CONTRAT]." {{interlanguage link|Académie de la Guadeloupe|fr}}. Retrieved on 10 March 2018.</ref> * Ecole maternelle Raymonde Bambuck * Ecole maternelle Bébian * Ecole maternelle Salvator Cidemé * Ecole maternelle Dubouchage * Ecole maternelle Bonchamps Fernande * Ecole maternelle Rallion Frantz * Ecole maternelle Raphael Jolivière 2 * Ecole maternelle Lauricisque

Public primary schools in Pointe-à-Pitre commune include:<ref name=PSlist/> * Ecole primaire Raymonde Bambuck * Ecole primaire Salvator Cidemé * Ecole primaire Raphael Cipolin * Ecole primaire Léon Feix * Ecole primaire Amédée Fengarol 1 * Ecole primaire Amédée Fengarol 2 * Ecole primaire Bonchamps Fernande * Ecole primaire Lauricisque

Elementary schools include: * Ecole élémentaire Raphael Jolivière 1

Public junior high schools in Pointe-à-Pitre commune include:<ref name=secschoollist>"[http://www.ac-guadeloupe.fr/sites/default/files/documents/www_etablissements_du_2nd_degre_public_2017-2018.pdf Établissements du 2nd degré PUBLIC 2017-2018]." {{interlanguage link|Académie de la Guadeloupe|fr}}. Retrieved on 10 March 2018.</ref> * Collège Jules Michelet * Collège Sadi Carnot * Collège Nestor De Kermadec * Collège Front de mer

Public senior high schools in Pointe-à-Pitre commune include:<ref name=secschoollist/> * [[LPO Carnot]] (including the Micro Lycée)

Private preschools and primary schools in Pointe-à-Pitre commune include:<ref name=PSlist/> * Ecole maternelle privée Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur * Ecole primaire privée Saint Joseph de Clun

Private secondary schools under contract in Pointe-à-Pitre commune:<ref>"[http://www.ac-guadeloupe.fr/sites/default/files/documents/www_etablissements_du_2nd_degre_prive_2017-2018_0.pdf Etablissements du 2nd degré privé sous contrat 2017-2018]."{{interlanguage link|Académie de la Guadeloupe|fr}}. Retrieved on 10 March 2018.</ref> * [[LP Boc Calmet]] * [[Collège/LGT Massabielle]]

== Monuments == * [[Place de la Victoire (Pointe-à-Pitre)|Place de la Victoire]] * La rue Frébault, [[Marché central de Pointe-à-Pitre|marché aux Épices]] (classé MH<ref name="Base Mérimée|PA00105881">{{Base Mérimée|PA00105881}}.</ref>) * The [[musée Saint-John Perse|musée Saint-John-Perse]] (classé MH<ref name="Base Mérimée|PA00105868">{{Base Mérimée|PA00105868}}.</ref>) * The [[musée Schœlcher]] (classé MH<ref name="Base Mérimée|PA00105869">{{Base Mérimée|PA00105869}}.</ref>) * The [[Pavillon L'Herminier]] (classé MH<ref name="Base Mérimée|PA97100030">{{Base Mérimée|PA97100030}}.</ref>) * The [[Mémorial ACTe]]<ref name="la1ere.fr">[http://www.la1ere.fr/2015/02/14/le-memorial-acte-de-guadeloupe-presente-paris-229437.html Le Mémorial ACTe de Guadeloupe présenté à Paris].</ref> * The [[Église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Pointe-à-Pitre|église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul]] (classée MH)<ref name="Base Mérimée|PA00105864">{{Base Mérimée|PA00105864}}.</ref> * The church of Massabielle. * Various elements of the civil and religious heritage of the municipality were built by the architect [[Ali Tur]] between 1930 and 1935 in a major works initiative by various institutions after the [[1928 Okeechobee hurricane]]. He realized the [[palais de justice de Pointe-à-Pitre]], the hospice hospital on the island, the fish hall, several schools, and the fire station.<ref name="AliTur">{{cite web | first1 = Michèle | last1 = Robin-Clerc | title = Note descriptive de l'œuvre d'Ali Tur | editor = Conseil régional de Guadeloupe | editor-link = Regional Council of Guadeloupe |url=http://www.culture.gouv.fr/documentation/merimee/PDF/sri01/IA97102001.pdf | location = Basse-Terre | date = 30 August 2010 | pages = 7–8 |language=fr |access-date=13 May 2017 }}.</ref> * The statues of [[La Mulâtresse Solitude]], Colonel [[Louis Delgrès]], Colonel [[Joseph Ignace]], percussionist {{interlanguage link|Marcel Lollia|fr}} (popularly known as "Vélo") and the painting of {{interlanguage link|Émeutes de mai 1967 en Guadeloupe|fr}} <gallery> Marché central de Pointe-à-Pitre.JPG|Le [[Marché central de Pointe-à-Pitre|marché aux Épices]]. Musée Saint-John Perse 001.JPG|[[Musée Saint-John-Perse]]. Musée Schoelcher de Pointe-à-Pitre.JPG|[[Musée Schœlcher]]. Externat Saint-Joseph-de-Cluny - Vue générale.JPG| Immeuble rue Saint-John Perse.JPG| Guadeloupe Les Abymes carrefour de Lacroix, sur le boulevard des Héros 2.jpg|[[La Mulâtresse Solitude]], in [[Les Abymes]]. </gallery> <gallery> Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Pointe-à-Pitre.JPG|[[Église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Pointe-à-Pitre|Église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul]]. Grotte de Massabielle Pointe-à-Pitre.JPG|La grotte de Massabielle. Office du Tourisme de Pointe-à-Pitre.JPG|[[Tourism office of Pointe-à-Pitre]] École maternelle Bébian, Pointe-à-Pitre.JPG|[[school of Pointe-à-Pitre]] </gallery>

== See also ==

* [[Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport]] * [[Communes of the Guadeloupe department]]

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{Commons category|Pointe-à-Pitre}} * {{Official website|http://www.ville-pointeapitre.fr/|City official website}} (in French) * [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/poin1.htm GigaCatholic- the former bishopric]

{{Guadeloupe communes}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pointeapitre}} [[Category:Pointe-à-Pitre| ]] [[Category:Communes of Guadeloupe]] [[Category:Subprefectures in France]] [[Category:Port cities and towns in the Caribbean]]