prisoner of war camp had up to 2,700 prisoners. One of them participated in the rescue expedition after the double air disaster of the in 1948. The end of the war From the beginning of 1945, new convoys of troops moved through the town, in the direction of the pockets of German resistance around the Ubaye. From 1945 to the early 21st century In 1974, the neighboring village of Dourbes was attached to Digne. The municipality changed its name to Digne-les-Bains in 1988. Nowadays, the town of Digne-les-Bains continues to expand, mainly along the banks of the Bléone. It forms, with Entrages, Marcoux, La Robine-sur-Galabre, and Mezel, the (CC3V). The areas of Le Pigeonnier and Barbejas have been classified as Sensitive urban zones. On 24 March 2015 Germanwings Flight 9525, carrying 150 people (including six crewmembers), had a rapid descent from cruising altitude approximately 45 minutes after takeoff. It crashed a few miles from the city, en route to Düsseldorf from Barcelona. Politics and administration List of mayors Cantons Digne-les-Bains is divided into two cantons: Intercommunality Digne is part of the following communities: From 2002 to 2013, of the , (of which it was the seat) From 2013 to 2017, of the (of which it was the seat) Since 1 January 2017, of the Communauté d'agglomération Provence-Alpes (of which it is the seat) Environmental policy Digne-les-Bains is ranked three flowers in the Contest of Flowery Towns and Villages. The city was rewarded with the three flowers in 2007's Contest of Flowery Towns and Villages. International relations Digne is twinned with: Bad Mergentheim, Germany Borgomanero, Italy Douma, Lebanon Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan (20 April 1994) Population and society Demography In 2006, the commune launched a housing construction project aiming to increase the population beyond 20,000 inhabitants (the lower threshold for obtaining certain public aid). Area and population The town of Digne-les-Bains has an area of and a population of 17,268 inhabitants, ranked as follows: Education Seat of the prefecture, and the of Provence, the city of Digne also has the main educational establishments of the Department: Fourteen schools, 11 primary schools, a private primary school (under contract and whose teachers are employees of National Education), and two nursery schools The Maria-Borrely and Pierre-Gassendi Three lycées, including the Lycée professionnel Beau-de-Rochas, the and the multipurpose school, which offers also two BTS certificates and further training of local initiative A University Institute of