Roquebillière
Roquebillière (French pronunciation: [ʁɔkbiljɛʁ]; historical Italian: Roccabigliera; Occitan: Ròcabilhiera) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.
History
It was part of the historic County of Nice until 1860 as Roccabigliere. The town was at one time a Templar settlement.
Arthur Koestler describes the town in August of 1939 in the opening chapter of Scum of the Earth (book), his memoir of the Fall of France. He and two companions spent their last summer there before the outbreak of World War II while finishing his book Darkness at Noon.
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 1,426 | — |
| 1975 | 1,336 | −0.93% |
| 1982 | 1,504 | +1.71% |
| 1990 | 1,539 | +0.29% |
| 1999 | 1,467 | −0.53% |
| 2009 | 1,635 | +1.09% |
| 2014 | 1,774 | +1.65% |
| 2020 | 1,822 | +0.45% |
| Source: INSEE | ||