A little history...

In the 5th century, Théoule belonged to the aristocratic Gaul Eucher, Lord of Mandelieu-La Napoule. In ancient times, this town was one of the most important ports between Toulon and Antibes.

A new commune: Théoule-sur-Mer

Before becoming a seaside resort, Théoule was a fishing village. Originally, it consisted of just 30 or so dwellings, and could only be reached via a small, unpassable road known as du Trayas.

Around 1898, a syndicate of property owners was formed under the presidency of an architect, Monsieur Hourlier, with the aim of defending the interests of this small hamlet.
This action was continued by Monsieur Ferrouillat, owner of the Château de Théoule and Director of the Lyon Républicain newspaper, assisted by Monsieur de Latenhiere.

Théoule finally saw its expansion increase with the completion of the Corniche d'Or national road, thanks to the urgent and effective efforts of Monsieur Abel Balif, President of the Touring-Club de France.
This road was inaugurated by the Minister of Public Works in 1902.

Among Théoule's pioneers were Docteur Balestre's father, as well as the Lautier-Morel, Ramie, Pierron, Journoux, Geay, Verzier, Gallipe, Botti, Hugues and Madame Antier families, and Father Virgilli, founder of the Camilliens brothers' nursing home, now known as Villa Saint-Camille.

In 1919, Monsieur Charles Dahon, Conseiller Municipal de Mandelieu, was appointed to defend the interests of Théoule, which became an autonomous commune in 1929.

Following the elections on May 5, 1929, Mr Charles Dahon was elected Mayor and presided over the first Municipal Council on May 19.

In 1930, the municipality acquired the Villa Jeanne on avenue Léon Montier to house the town hall. At the same time, the mixed school was created on land donated by Léon Montier, and enlarged in 1934. The cemetery was also created, and work was undertaken to improve the water and electricity networks. In 1938, the main road through the commune was widened, improving traffic flow.

Occupation and liberation

After the defeat of June 1940 and the occupation of France by German and Italian troops, part of Théoule's population was evacuated on February 28, 1944, as the Germans feared an operation by Allied troops.

August 15 and 16, 1944 are 2 pages of Theoulian history etched in blood-colored ink, a history which, like the history of France, belongs to all French people, but these pages are special because they were written with our American friends.
For, let us never forget, it was thanks to the Allies, and particularly the Americans, as well as to the French who had not given up, that we regained our honor and our Freedom, confiscated by a blind dictatorship.

Every year, the commune pays tribute to these men, who landed on the land of Provence on August 15, 1944, and remembers their suffering and sacrifice.

Let's remember this moment in history...

As part of the preliminary operations for the landing, known as Operation DRAGOON, scheduled for August 15, 1944, Commandant Seriot's Groupe Naval d'Assaut de Corse was to intervene during the night, preceding by several hours the American air and naval intervention prior to the main landing.
This group was under American command.
This naval intervention was to take place in 2 zones: one to the west of the planned landing zone, and one to the east, at Théoule, at the Pointe de l'Esquillon.
The mission of this operation, called "ROSIE", was to cut the two roads linking Cannes to Saint-Raphaël, the Route Nationale 7 and the seaside road.

Commandant Seriot, aboard the famous "RUBBER BOATS", docked at the head of a Commando of 67 officers and sailors.
The operation got off to a normal start, but unfortunately halfway to the coast, the Commando ran into a minefield that had been laid by the Germans a few days earlier. Under German machine-gun fire, 11 Commando officers, non-commissioned officers and sailors fell that night... 17 were wounded and 27 were taken prisoner.
The following day, on the evening of August 16, the 141st US Infantry Regiment entered Théoule and liberated the town, but not without fighting foot to foot for hours on end, despite the support of light armor. During these battles on Théoule soil, 9 brave soldiers gave their lives, thousands of kilometers from their homeland... A plaque in front of the town hall pays tribute to them today.

In those 2 days, 20 of these heroes died in the glory of youth.

Since these heroic events, every year on August 14th, 15th and 16th, the commune of Théoule has been a place of remembrance and honor, and the US NAVY and representatives of the American authorities are present to commemorate this event and honor the promise made in 1954 by Admiral Combs, Commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet, to General Bertrand, Mayor of Théoule at the time, who was awarded THE LEGION OF MERIT (Officer grade) by the United States of America: THE LEGION OF MERIT (Officer rank) " that every August 15, an American ship would be present in Théoule for the D-Day ceremonies ".

Following the liberation of Théoule, Monsieur Charles Dahon was retained as mayor by prefectoral decree, along with his municipal councillors, Julien Boissin, Jean Calzia, André Fromont, Clément Garaffio, Gabriel Garaffio, Albert Lanza, Marcel Michel, Guy Pacchioni, Maxime Sigallas, Bernard Pons and André Pacchioni.

The municipality immediately set to work repairing the damage caused by the bombardments and restoring the stricken buildings.

In this way, Théoule has gradually regained its character as a seaside resort, continuing to improve its facilities and installations, to the delight of its residents and the ever-increasing number of tourists.

History of Corniche d'or

This road offers some of the most beautiful scenery on the Côte d'Azur. Initially a rural road to Théoule, it became a road on the initiative of the Mayor of Mandelieu, Ludovic Guize, who in May 1899 proposed the opening of the "Nouvelle Corniche de St Raphaël à Cannes".

But its construction only really got off the ground when the Touring Club de France offered to help on November 19, 1900.

The Touring-Club, founded in 1890, worked to develop tourism, first by bicycle and then by car, by offering subsidies. United behind their dynamic President, Abel Ballif (1845-1934), its leaders lobbied public authorities for this achievement.

In fact, a monument was erected at Le Trayas in honor of Abel Ballif. Mayor Guize proposed that the new road, completed on June 2, 1901, be named Boulevard du Touring Club de France à Mandelieu.

Now known as the Corniche d'Or (Golden Corniche), this imposing work of art follows the meandering coastline in tight curves, the red porphyry standing out magnificently against the blue of the Mediterranean, offering an unforgettable panorama at every turn.

It was solemnly inaugurated on April 11, 1903 by a convoy of nearly 200 automobiles followed by a stream of cyclists.

Known as the Nationale 7 for a time, for reasons of state subsidy it was classified as the RN98 in 1935, and the RD6098 in 2006. It is one of Europe's most beautiful roads along the Mediterranean.

For further information, historical books on our commune are available from the Théoule Tourist Office.