Sheep breed
Mérinos d'Arles
Mérinos d'Arles
Provence's fine-woolled, transhumant Merino.
Description1
A breed developed in 19th-century south-east France by crossing local ewes with Spanish Merino rams, originally for wool. With about 250,000 ewes (some 130,000 on the Crau plain) it is one of France's largest breeds and Europe's leading Merino breed.
Small to medium-sized, with an abundant fleece covering the whole body including forehead, cheeks and legs; the white, wavy wool averages 21 microns. Rams carry spiral horns, though polled rams are increasingly common.
Very hardy, tolerant of drought and temperature swings, and with a strong flocking instinct ideal for transhumance: alpine summer pastures June–October, the irrigated Crau in winter and the dry Crau in spring. Lambs now provide the income; it is a maternal base for Agneau de Sisteron (Label Rouge, PGI).
History1
From 1804
Spread by the imperial sheepfold at Arles; local ewes crossed with Spanish Merino rams.
1921
Breeders' syndicate founded; Châtillonais Merino blood added.
1946
Flock book opened; UPRA founded in 1978.
Breed standard and breed society
The official breed description, breeding goal and herdbook rules are published by the breed's recognised breed society.
- French Wikipedia – Mérinos d'Arleshttps://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mérinos_d'Arles
Photo gallery
All photos are freely licensed (Wikimedia Commons, Flickr); author, source and licence are shown under each image.
Sources
Accessed: 2026-10-18.