Independent, attractive, and powerful in the Middle Ages and later a main actor of the republican revolt against the coup of Napoleon III in the middle of the 19th century and a center of the Resistance during the Second World War, Forcalquier remains articulated around its historic center. This city of only 5,121 inhabitants is one of the smallest sub-prefectures in France. However, it continues to host one of the largest markets in Provence and retains its role as a cultural beacon of the Provençal high country. The clarity of its sky allowed the establishment of the Haute-Provence observatory on the territory of the neighboring locality of Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire. Furthermore, the hydroelectric development of the Durance and the creation of the reservoir of La Laye renewed the vitality of the area by generalizing the irrigation of crops. Forcalquier also stands out in the field of industrial and technical tourism with its distillery founded in 1898 and specializing in traditional aperitifs and liqueurs made from aromatic herbs from the Montagne de Lure.