For: Cannes Film Festival

Cannes ( , in Occitan Canas) in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in southeastern France is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. The population was 70,400 as of the 2007 census. Cannes is the home of numerous luxurious houses and mansions as well as many high-end gated communities. The city is also famous for its various luxury stores, fancy restaurants, and prestigious hotels.

History

By the 2nd century BC the Ligurian Oxybii established a settlement here known as Aegitna. Historians are unsure what the name means. The area was a fishing village used as a port of call between the Lérins Islands.

Cannes: the name

In the 10th century the town was known as CanuaFact: date=June 2008. The name may derive from "canna", a reed. Canua was probably the site of a small Ligurian port, and later a Roman outpost on Le Suquet hill, suggested by Roman tombs discovered here. Le Suquet housed an 11th-century tower which overlooked swamps where the city now stands. Most of the ancient activity, especially protection, was on the Lérin Islands and the history of Cannes is the history of the islands.

The birth of the "Suquet"

An attack by the Saracens in 891, who remained until the end of the 10th century, devastated the country around Canua. The insecurity of the Lérin islands forced the monks to settle on the mainland, at the Suquet. Construction of a castle in 1035 fortified the city by then known as Cannes, and at the end of the 11th century construction was started on two towers on the Lérin Islands. One took a century to build, the other three.

Around 1530, Cannes detached from the monks who had controlled the city for hundreds of years and became independent.

The Lérins Islands (Les Îles de Lérins)

During the 18th century, the Spanish and English both tried to gain control of the Lérins Islands, but were chased away by the French. The islands were later controlled by many, such as Jean-Honoré Alziary, and the Bishop of Fréjus. The islands had many different purposes; at the end of the 19th century, one was a hospital for soldiers in the Crimean War.

The Belle Époque (Beautiful Era)

Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux bought land at the Croix des Gardes and constructed the villa Eleonore-Louise. His work to improve living conditions attracted the English aristocracy, who also built winter residences.

At the end of the 19th century, several railways were completed. This prompted the arrival of streetcars. In Cannes, projects such as the Boulevard Carnot, the rue d'Antibes and the Carlton Hotel on the Promenade de la Croisette were carried out. After the closure of the Casino des Fleurs (hôtel Gallia), a luxury establishment was built for the rich winter clientèle; the Casino Municipal next to the pier Albert-Edouard. This casino was demolished and replaced by the new Palace in 1979.