Gironde | |
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Prefecture building in Bordeaux | |
![]() Location of Gironde in France | |
Coordinates: 44°50′N0°40′W / 44.833°N 0.667°W Coordinates: 44°50′N0°40′W / 44.833°N 0.667°W | |
Country | France |
Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
Prefecture | Bordeaux |
Subprefectures | Arcachon Blaye Langon Lesparre-Médoc Libourne |
Government | |
• President of the Departmental Council | Jean-Luc Gleyze [1] (PS) |
Area | |
• Total | 10,000 km2 (4,000 sq mi) |
Population | |
• Total | 1,623,749 |
• Rank | 6th |
• Density | 160/km2 (420/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Department number | 33 |
Arrondissements | 6 |
Cantons | 33 |
Communes | 535 |
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2. |
Gironde ( /ʒɪˈrɒnd/ zhi-ROND [3] US usually, /dʒɪˈ-/ ji-, [4] [5] French: [ʒiʁɔ̃d] ( listen ); Occitan : Gironda, pronounced [dʒiˈɾundo] ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749. [6] The famous Bordeaux wine region is in Gironde. It has six arrondissements, making it one of the departments with the most arrondissements (Nord also has six, while Pas-de-Calais has the most of any department, with seven).
Gironde is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Guyenne and Gascony.
From 1793 to 1795, the department's name was changed to Bec-d'Ambès to avoid the association with the Girondist political party of the French Revolution.
Gironde is part of the current region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and is surrounded by the departments of Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne and Charente-Maritime and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. With an area of 10,000 km2, Gironde is the largest department in metropolitan France. If overseas departments are included, however, Gironde's land area is dwarfed by the 83,846 km2 of French Guiana.
Gironde is well known for the Côte d'Argent beach which is Europe's longest, attracting many surfers to Lacanau each year. It is also the birthplace of Jacques-Yves Cousteau who studied the sea and all forms of life in water.
The Great Dune of Pyla in Arcachon Bay near Bordeaux is the tallest sand dune in Europe. [7]
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source: [8] [9] |
The most populous commune is Bordeaux, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 30,000 inhabitants: [6]
Commune | Population (2019) |
---|---|
Bordeaux | 260,958 |
Mérignac | 72,197 |
Pessac | 65,245 |
Talence | 43,820 |
Villenave-d'Ornon | 36,754 |
Saint-Médard-en-Jalles | 31,808 |
Bègles | 30,642 |
The President of the Departmental Council is Jean-Luc Gleyze of the Socialist Party.
Party | seats | |
---|---|---|
• | Socialist Party | 45 |
The Republicans | 12 | |
• | French Communist Party | 3 |
Miscellaneous Right | 1 | |
MoDem | 1 | |
Hunting, Fishing, Nature, Tradition | 1 | |
Loire is a landlocked department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes occupying the river Loire's upper reaches. It had a population of 765,634 in 2019.
Charente-Maritime is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kilometres.
Indre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079. Sometimes referred to as Touraine, the name of the historic region, it nowadays is part of the Centre-Val de Loire region. Its prefecture is Tours and subprefectures are Chinon and Loches. Indre-et-Loire is a touristic destination for its numerous monuments that are part of the Châteaux of the Loire Valley.
Charente is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the river beside which the department's two largest towns, Angoulême and Cognac, are sited. In 2019, it had a population of 352,015.
Landes is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France, with a long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It borders Gers to the east, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, to the south, Lot-et-Garonne to the north-east, and Gironde to the north. It also borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Located on the Atlantic coast, it had a population of 413,690 as of 2019. Its prefecture is Mont-de-Marsan.
Eure is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.
Lot-et-Garonne is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019. Its prefecture and largest city is Agen.
Orne is a department in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.
Deux-Sèvres is a French department. Deux-Sèvres literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019.
Haute-Vienne is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve departments that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The prefecture and largest city in the department is Limoges, the other towns in the department each having fewer than twenty thousand inhabitants. Haute-Vienne had a population of 372,359 in 2019.
Pauillac is a municipality in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The city is mid-way between Bordeaux and the Pointe de Grave, along the Gironde, the largest estuary in western Europe.
Moulis-en-Médoc is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.
Arcachon is a commune in the southwestern French department of Gironde. It is a popular seaside resort on the Atlantic coast 55 kilometres (34 mi) southwest of Bordeaux, in the Landes forest. It has a sandy beach and a mild climate said to be favourable for invalids suffering from pulmonary complaints. Arcachon is twinned with five cities.
The 6 arrondissements of the Gironde department are:
La Teste-de-Buch is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.
The arrondissement of Bordeaux is an arrondissement of France in the Gironde department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It has 82 communes. Its population is 950,099 (2016), and its area is 1,521.8 km2 (587.6 sq mi).
The arrondissement of Arcachon is an arrondissement of France in the Gironde department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It has 17 communes. Its population is 150,979 (2016), and its area is 1,469.8 km2 (567.5 sq mi).
Gujan-Mestras is a commune in the Gironde department in southwestern France. It is twinned with Santa María de Cayón, Spain
Vienne is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine, is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014 through the merger of three regions: Aquitaine, Limousin and Poitou-Charentes. It covers 84,036 km2 (32,446 sq mi) – or 1⁄8 of the country – and has 5,956,978 inhabitants. The new region was established on 1 January 2016, following the regional elections in December 2015.