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Biganos (Municipality, Gironde, France)

Flag of Biganos - Image by Ivan Sache, 18 October 2011

Presentation of Biganos
Flag of Biganos

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Presentation of Biganos

The municipality of Biganos (9,099 inhabitants in 2007; 7,720 ha) is located on the Arcachon Bay, 25 km east of Arcachon.

Biganos is located close the delta of river Leyre, a river that provides the only significant contribution in freshwater to the Arcachon Bay. Biganos has two small ports located on river Leyre. The Biganos Port, surrounded by the forest, has kept its colored, traditional oyster breeders' houses; located downstream on the Leyre, the Tiles' Port is named for the tiles used by the oyster breeders to rear oyster larvae.
The delta of the Leyre includes the Malprat island, named for its bad pastures, once used to produce salt, and, subsequently, fish (like in Audenge and Lanton). The 140-ha island includes 19 ponds (60 ha) supplied with brackish water regulated by 11 locks. In 1997, the last Marchioness of Moneys, owner of the Malprat island, died; the island was donated on 7 July 2011 to the Conservatoire du Littoral, which commissioned the General Council of Gironde and the Municipality of Biganos to manage the island, kept since then under a strict reserved access status.

Source: Municipal website

Biganos skyline is dominated by the big chimneys of the Smurfit Kappa Cellulose du Pin paper mill (website), located in the industrial borough of Facture. The factory produces 520,000 tons of brown and white kraft paper per year, using by-products of the local timber industry based on the pines grown in the forest of the Landes of Gascony.
Smurfit Kappa Cellulose du Pin is a division of the Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG), one of the world's leaders in paper packaging industry, with headquarters in Dublin (Ireland).
The Cellulose du Pin paper mill was originally built in 1926-1958 by the Saint-Gobain group. Subsequently renamed Saint-Gobain Papiers Bois, the company was purchased in 1994 by Jefferson Smurfit, the forerunner of SKG.

Ivan Sache, 18 October 2011

Flag of Biganos

The flag of Biganos, hoisted on the town hall, is white with the municipal logo in the middle.
The colorful logo of Biganos is made of the name of the town, in green, with the "A" shaped as the mouth of the delta of the Leyre, placed above three elements. On the left, the blue rectangle with drops represents the rivers watering Biganos; in the middle, a green rectangle made of a leaf represents the forest; on the right, the orange rectangle is colored like resin tapped from the pines. The motto "PORTE DU DELTA" (Gate of the Delta) emphasizes the geographical location of Biganos.

Ivan Sache, 18 October 2011