Lodève Commune of Lodève Location Location Longitude 03° 19 ' 13 '' E Latitude 43° 43 ' 57 '' N Administration Country France Région Languedoc-Roussillon Département Hérault ( sous-préfecture ) Arrondissement Lodève Canton Lodève Intercommunality Communauté de Communes du Lodévois Mayor Robert Lecou ( 2001-2008 ) Statistics Altitude 117 m–700 m ( avg. 165 m ) Land area¹ 23.17 km² Population ² ( 1999 ) 6 , 900  - Density ( 1999 ) 297/km² Miscellaneous I NSEE /Postal code 34142/ 34700 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 ) . Lodève is an attractive medieval town in southern France , in the Hérault département , of which it is a sous-préfecture . Geography Lodève lies where the plains rise up to the Larzac plateau , 54km from Montpellier , in the valley of the Lergue river . It is surrounded by green hills and vineyards and lies only 8km from the large man-made Lake Salagou . History This section is a stub . You can help by adding to it . The area had a firm resistance against the Nazi occupation during the Second World War . Main sights Cathedral , parts of which date from the 6th century . Culture Throughout the year , the town hosts a varied programme of festivities and events both cultural and sporting , as well as all sorts of markets which are always well worth a visit . Over recent years , the Museum Art Gallery has gained national acclaim for its major art exhibitions . One of the events that happens is the `` Fête de St . Fulcran `` the saint of the town . It happens every year for a week in may . For a week there is a carnaval and other events . Demographics Lodève has a fairly large Algerian ( see pied noir ) population , the first generation of which fought for the French and were housed here after the Algerian Civil War . Transportation The town lies on the A75 autoroute about 30 minutes south of the new Millau viaduct , the highest bridge in the world . Miscellaneous Lodève was the birthplace of : André-Hercule de Fleury ( 1653 - 1743 ) a cardinal who served as the chief minister of Louis XV Georges Auric ( 1899 - 1983 ) , composer Paul Dardé ( 1888 - 1963 ) , sculptor . Joseph Vallot , Alpinist the middleschool and the highschool are name after this alpinist who installed a observatory in the Alpes . The town houses a famous carpet-manufacturing company , part of the national Savonnerie , which once supplied large , exquisite carpets to the French royal family , and still today produces hand made carpets for State buildings . See also Bishopric of Lodéve Sources ( incomplete ) This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia . GigaCatholic External links Tourist office website Categories : Articles with sections needing expansion | Derived from Catholic Encyclopedia | Communes of Hérault In other languages : Català | Deutsch | Español | Français | Italiano | Nederlands | Occitan | Polski Lodève Languedoc-Roussillon Hérault ( sous-préfecture ) Lodève Lodève 34142 34700 Lodèvois Robert Lecou 2001-2008 Communauté de Communes du Lodévois 03° 19 ' 13 '' E 43° 43 ' 57 '' N 165 m 117 m 700 m 2 , 317 23.17 6 , 900 1999 297 1999 