Saint-Paul-lès-Durance

Saint-Paul-lès-Durance
The town hall
Location of Saint-Paul-lès-Durance
Saint-Paul-lès-Durance
Saint-Paul-lès-Durance
Coordinates: 43°41′16″N 5°42′30″E / 43.6878°N 5.7083°E / 43.6878; 5.7083
CountryFrance
RegionProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
DepartmentBouches-du-Rhône
ArrondissementAix-en-Provence
CantonTrets
IntercommunalityAix-Marseille-Provence
Government
  Mayor (20212026) Romain Buchaut
Area
1
45.81 km2 (17.69 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)
886
  Density19/km2 (50/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
13099 /13115
Elevation230–519 m (755–1,703 ft)
(avg. 254 m or 833 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Paul-lès-Durance (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ pɔl dyʁɑ̃s], literally Saint-Paul near Durance; also spelled Saint-Paul-lez-Durance; Provençal: Sant Pau de Durença) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in Provence, southern France.

The Cadarache research center for nuclear energy is located in Saint-Paul-lès-Durance and next to it the international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject ITER one of the most expensive buildings ever built and the largest scientific research collaboration in history.

The town was established in the 10th century and has around 1,000 inhabitants, a school, a church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Aix, a 15th-century château, and a little shopping center.