Arandas, Ain

Arandas is a commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France.

The commune covers an area of 14.10 km² (5.44 sq mi). Lionel Manos is the mayor for the 2020-2026 tenure.

Geography
Arandas is some 50 km north-west of Aix-les-Bains and 10 km south-west of Hauteville-Lompnes. It can be accessed by the D104 from Argis in the north running south to the village then continuing south as the D104A through the heart of the commune to join the D32 south of the commune. The D104 itself reverses direction in the village and heads north-west to join the D73. The commune has some farmland but is heavily forested and mountainous. There are no villages or hamlets in the commune other than Arandas.

The Bossiere stream rises near the village and flows west to join the Galine river. The Ruisseau de Grinand also rises in the north of the commune, forming part of the northern boundary before flowing into the Galine.

History
In the Middle Ages Arandas was a lordship with the most famous lord being the poet Claude Guichard in the 16th century. The commune was separated from Conand in 1865.

Territorial Division
The municipality of Arandas is a member of the Community of Communes of Plaine de l'Ain, a public inter-municipal cooperation establishment (EPCI) with its own taxation created on 15 December 2002, with its headquarters in Chazey-sur-Ain. The latter is also a member of other inter-municipal groups.

Administratively, Arandas is part of the Belley district, the Ain department, and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. In terms of electoral representation, it falls under the Ambérieu-en-Bugey canton for the election of departmental councilors, since the cantonal reorganization of 2014 came into effect in 2015, and the fifth constituency of Ain for legislative elections, since the latest electoral division in 2010.

Personalities

 * Anthelme Ferrand (1758-1834), politician, member of the Convention and the Council of Five Hundred was born in the commune.