CASTELSARRASIN  , a

town of south-western France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Tarn-et-Garonne, 12 M . W. of Montauban on the Southern railway . Pop . (1906) town, 3189; commune, 7496 . Castelsarrasin, situated on the - left bank of the lateral canal of the Garonne and about a mile from the right bank of that river, is surrounded by promenades occupying the site of the old fortifications . Its chief building is the brick-built church of St Sauveur, which dates from the 13th century . The administrative buildings are modern . The town has a sub-prefecture, a tribunal of first instance, and a communal college . The principal industrial establishment is the metal-foundry of Sainte-Marguerite, where copper, tin and other metals are worked; there are also flour-mills, saw-mills and dye-works . Trade is in cattle, agricultural produce, wine, baskets and game . The name Castelsarrasin appears in the 13th century, when the village of Villelongue was replaced by the present bastide . Castrum Cerrucium, Castel-sur-Azine (from the neighbouring stream, Azine) and Castellum Sarracenum are suggested derivations,no one of which can be adopted with certainty .