SOAR - St. Tropez Chapter

St. Tropez joined the SOAR family in May 2023. Saint-Tropez is nextled in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Southern France. It is 68 kilometres west of Nice and 100 kilometres east of Marseille, on the French Riviera. The adjacent narrow body of water is the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, which stretches to Sainte-Maxime to the north under the Massif des Maures.

Saint-Tropez was a military stronghold and fishing village until the beginning of the 20th century. It was the first town on its coast to be liberated during World War II as part of Operation Dragoon. After the war, it became an internationally known seaside resort, renowned principally because of the influx of artists of the French New Wave in cinema and the Yé-yé movement in music. Les Bravades de Saint-Tropez is an annual celebration held in the middle of May when people of the town celebrate their patron saint, Torpes of Pisa. One of the oldest traditions of Provence, it has been held for more than 450 years since the citizens of Saint-Tropez were first given special permission to form a militia to protect the town from the Barbary pirates. During the three-day celebration, the various militias in costumes of the time fire their muskets into the air at traditional stops, march to the sound of bands, parade St. Torpes’s bust, and attend a mass wearing traditional Provençal costume.