Condom, Gers

Commune of Condom Condom Cathedral
Location
Coordinates	43° 57' 30" N 00° 22' 25" E
Administration
Country	France
Region	Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Gers (sous-préfecture)
Arrondissement	Condom
Canton	Condom
Intercommunality	Communauté de commune de la Ténarèze
Mayor	Gérard Dubrac (2001-2008)
Statistics
Altitude	62 m–190 m (avg. 82 m)
Land area¹	97.37 km²
Population² (1999)	7,251
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	32107/ 32100
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Condom is a town and commune in the French département of Gers, of which it is a sous-préfecture.

Way of St. James

Condom is a town on the Via Podiensis, one of the three major French arms of the pilgramage route, the Way of St. James. This particular route begins in Le Puy and ends in Santiago de Compostella in northwest Spain. Pilgrims arrive at Condom after Miradoux and continue on to Larressingle.

Several Claims to Fame

Given the more widespread social use, in the English language, of the word condom, it is interesting to note that the town is located on the river Baïse; baise, without the diaeresis, is a French vulgarism for a sex act. In French language however, a condom is usually called préservatif and seldom condom. The city is a popular target for street sign stealing tourists. It is also home to a museum of famous population-control devices.^{[citation needed]}

It is known for the production of Armagnac, an international music festival of "bandas", an international chess tournament and an international chess marathon. It is also known for its tourism with farm campings and boating on waterways.

The town was featured in the French film, Le Bonheur est dans le Pré or Happiness is in the Field. The movie features a man leaving his job as a manager of a toilet lid factory and his erstwhile family after he was mistaken for another man on a TV show. He moves to live in Condom with his 'old-new' family who own a foie de canard (duck liver) farm. The film features many ducks and happy people drinking armagnac and eating foie de canard.

John Du Prez, friend of former Python Eric Idle and co-composer with him of Spamalot (musical, 2005) and Not the Messiah (oratorio, 2007), has a cottage in Condom.^[1]

See also

• Bishop of Condom
• Condom Cathedral
• Place names considered unusual
• Place names with English meanings

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Condom, Gers

• City council website (in French)
• Le bonheur est dans le pré (Internet Movie Database)
• Condom Cathedral aerial photo

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