Occitania (administrative region)
Occitania
| |
---|---|
Coordinates: 43°42′29″N 1°03′36″E / 43.708°N 1.060°E | |
Country | France |
Prefecture | Toulouse |
Departments | 13
|
Government | |
• President of the Regional Council | Carole Delga (PS) |
Area | |
• Total | 72,724 km2 (28,079 sq mi) |
• Rank | 2nd |
Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 6,022,176 |
• Density | 83/km2 (210/sq mi) |
Demonym(s) | Occitan(s) (masc.), Occitane(s) (fem.) (fr) |
GDP | |
• Total | €181.273 billion |
• Per capita | €30,900 |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
ISO 3166 code | FR-OCC |
Occitania
The modern administrative region is named after the larger cultural and historical region of Occitania, which corresponds with the southern third of France. The region of Occitania as it is today covers a territory similar to that ruled by the Counts of Toulouse in the 12th and 13th centuries. The banner of arms of the Counts of Toulouse, known colloquially as the Occitan cross, is used by the modern region and is also a popular cultural symbol. In 2020, Occitania had a population of 5,973,969.
Toponymy
Enacted in 2014, the territorial reform of French regions had been subject to debate for many years.[6] The reform law used as the new region's provisional name, the hyphenated names of its predecessors: Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées, in alphabetical order. As for most of the merged regions, a permanent name was then proposed by the new regional council to replace that provisional name.[7][8][9] On 24 June 2016, the Regional Council of Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées adopted the name Occitania after lengthy public consultation.[10] The provisional name of the region was withdrawn on 30 September 2016, when the new name took effect.[5]
Occitania, the new name, derives from the historical appellation of the broader region, and refers to the historical use throughout that territory of the Occitan language and its various dialects, which are so named for the word òc, the Occitan word for oui or "yes". The circa 450,000 French Catalans living in the region (or Catalans of the North, as they mostly call themselves) expressed dismay at the regional assembly resolution, regarding the new name as ignoring their presence.[11] On 10 September 2016, some 10,000 people (7,800 according to the police) demonstrated in Perpignan, demanding that the merged region name contain the words Pays catalan (literal translation: "Catalan country").[12]
Geography
Occitania is the second-largest region in mainland France, covering an area of 72,724 km2 (28,079 sq mi); it has a population of 5,845,102 (2017).[13] It has a Mediterranean coast on the southeast and is neighboured by Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur on the east, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on the northeast and Nouvelle-Aquitaine on the west and northwest, as well as foreign borders of Andorra (Canillo, Encamp, La Massana, Ordino) and Spain (Aragon and Catalonia) on the south.
Departments
Code | Arms 1 | Department | Prefecture | Named after | Population (2017)[14] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
09 | Ariège | Foix | Ariège River | 153,153 | |
11 | Aude | Carcassonne | Aude River | 370,260 | |
12 | Aveyron | Rodez | Aveyron River | 279,206 | |
30 | Gard | Nîmes | Gardon River
|
744,178 | |
31 | Haute-Garonne | Toulouse | Garonne River
|
1,362,672 | |
32 | Gers | Auch | Gers River | 191,091 | |
34 | Hérault | Montpellier | Hérault River | 1,144,892 | |
46 | Lot | Cahors | Lot River | 173,828 | |
48 | Lozère | Mende | Mont Lozère | 76,601 | |
65 | Hautes-Pyrénées | Tarbes | Pyrenees | 228,530 | |
66 | Pyrénées-Orientales | Perpignan | Pyrenees | 474,452 | |
81 | Tarn | Albi | Tarn River | 387,890 | |
82 | Tarn-et-Garonne | Montauban | Tarn River and Garonne River | 258,349 |
Major communities
The largest communes of Occitania are (population as of 2017[update]:[14]
- Toulouse (479,553)
- Montpellier (285,121)
- Nîmes (150,610)
- Perpignan (120,158)
- Béziers (77,177)
- Montauban (60,810)
- Narbonne (54,700)
- Albi (50,759)
- Carcassonne (47,365)
Economy
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 171.2 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 7.3% of French economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 26,000 euros or 86% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 102% of the EU average.[15]
Politics
Following the creation of the region in 2016,
Historical identity
The new administrative region includes provinces and territories of diverse cultural and historical origin:
Occitania
Languedoc
Most of the territory that came to be called
The territory falling within the jurisdiction of the
The year 1359 marked a turning point in the history of the province.[28] The three bailiwicks (sénéchaussées) of Bèucaire, Carcassona and Tolosa had the status of bonnes villes (towns granted privileges and protection by the king of France in return for providing a contingent of men at arms). In that year, the three entered into a perpetual union, after which their contribution of royal officers was summoned jointly rather than separately for each of the three sénéchaussées.[29][30][31][32]
Towards the end of the 14th century, the term "country of the three seneschalties" (pays des trois sénéchaussées), later to become known as Languedoc, designated the two bailiwicks of Bèucaire-Nimes and Carcassona, and the eastern part of Tolosa (Toulouse), retained under the Treaty of Brétigny. At that time, the County of Foix, which belonged to the seneschal of Carcassona until 1333 before passing to Toulouse, ceased to belong to Languedoc. In 1542, the province was divided into two généralités: Toulouse for Haut-Languedoc, and Montpellier for Bas-Languedoc. This lasted until the French Revolution in 1789. From the 17th century onward, there was only one intendance for the whole of Languedoc, with its seat in Montpellier.
Haute-Guyenne
The
The territory of the former province of Guyenne (Guiana) that lies within the region corresponds with Quercy (the current department of Lot and the north of Tarn e Garona), and with Roergue (Avairon). These two counties are thus part of the Occitan linguistic area, in its Languedocien dialectal variant. They were possessions of the Counts of Toulouse from the 9th century, at various stages a minor branch or the main branch. Like the other possessions of the Counts of Toulouse, they were integrated for the first time with the French royal domain in 1271, and then yielded to the kings of England under the 1360 Treaty of Brétigny. The province of Quercy was definitely reunited with the Crown in 1472; Roergue, possession of the counts of Armagnac, did not follow until 1607. Both came within the province of Guyenne, under military rule from 1561. Together, they became the généralité of Montauban from 1635, which then became the province of Haute-Guyenne in 1779. Today, the name Guyenne no longer has administrative or political currency, although the Haut-Agenais used the term Pais de Guiana in a campaign which evoked its historical identity to promote the Lot-et-Garonne and part of the valley of Dròt. This reference is now superseded in the promotion of tourism by the designation Pais del Dròt. The appellations Quercy and Roergue, in contrast, retain a strong identity.
Gascony is the
, in 1607.County of Foix (Fois)
The
The county-peerage passed to the House of Albret in 1484,[33] and then to House of Bourbon-Vendôme in 1548.[33] In 1607, King Henry IV of France attached the county to the Royal French domain.[33]
From the time of the French Revolution, the county was fully incorporated into the department of Ariège. The Occitan dialect traditionally spoken there is Languedocien.
Roussillon
The Ancien Régime province of Roussillon, which had formerly been integrated with the Catalan counties, the Kingdom of Majorca, and the Principality of Catalonia within the Crown of Aragon, was attached to the Crown of France under the Treaty of the Pyrenees, signed on 7 November 1659. Prior to this treaty, the border between the kingdom of France and the Principality of Catalonia lay further north, along a line of citadels (Treaty of Corbeil).
These territories corresponded to the Catalan counties of Roussillon and Conflent, founded in the 9th century, as well as to the northern part of the County of Cerdanya, to which was added the former Vicounty of Castelnou, or Vallespir (the pagus of County of Besalú, united with the County of Roussillon in 1209). The new Province of Roussillon[35] also known simply as Roussillon,[36] brought together the medieval administrative courts, or vigueries, of Roussillon,[37] Conflent,[38] and the north of the County of Cerdanya[39] which were part of the government structure of the Crown of Aragon's (and attached to the Principality of Catalonia) counties of Roussillon and Cerdanya (governació dels comtats de Rosselló i Cerdanya in Catalan)[40] at the time of their attachment to France. Roussillon was subject to direct taxation as a pays d'imposition (taxing country) and did not have representation through the Estates[41] (a provincial assembly, the provincial assembly of Roussillon,[42] was created on 15 August 1787).[43] It formed both a government[44] and an intendance[45] and reported to the Secretary of State for War as a border province. It had sovereign jurisdiction: the Sovereign Council of Roussillon, independent of the Parlement of Toulouse.
Currently, the name Roussillon is still the most widely used to designate this territory, being found in the denomination of the former region of Languedoc-Roussillon.
Today, the territory is often subdivided into five unofficial traditional and natural comarques: Roussillon proper, Vallespir, Conflent, Upper Cerdanya and Capcir. A recent addition is Fenouillèdes, the Occitan part of the department of Pyrénées-Orientales.
See also
- Association internationale d'études occitanes
- Languedoc-Roussillon
- Midi-Pyrénées
- Occitania
- Regions of France
References
- ^ "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat". Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ "Presentation of the Occitania / Pyrenees-Mediterranean region". www.tourism-occitania.co.uk.
- ^ French: Occitanie [ɔksitani] ; Occitan: Occitània [utsiˈtanjɔ]; Catalan: Occitània [uksiˈtaniə])
- ^ a b Décret n° 2016-1264 du 28 septembre 2016 portant fixation du nom et du chef-lieu de la région Occitanie (in French)
- ^ "Résultats élections Régionales 2015". Le Monde (in French). Agence France-Presse. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "Nom Région LRMP : Quelques jours pour Se mobiliser, des décennies pour durer". Le Blog De L’occitan / Lo Blòg Occitan. France 3. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ "Nom Région LRMP : Occitanie c'est validé, Carole Delga s'occupe des Catalans". Le Blog Politique. France 3. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ Loi n° 2015-29 du 16 janvier 2015 Relative à la délimitation des régions, aux élections régionales et départementales et modifiant le calendrier électoral (in fr)
- ^ "Le nom de ma région : Occitanie - La nouvelle Région - Région Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée". Regionlrmp.fr. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ Minder, Raphael (8 September 2016). ""Don't Erase Us": French Catalans Fear Losing More Than a Region's Name". www.nytimes.com. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
We are the Catalans of the North and we want to continue to exist as such.
- ^ "Thousands hold pro Catalan rally in southern France". www.yahoo.com. 10 September 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
Organisers said as many as 10,000 people gathered -- police put the figure at some 7,800 people -- to demand their newly-merged region contain the words "Pays catalan" (Catalan land).
- Insee. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ a b Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2017, INSEE
- ^ "Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018". Eurostat.
- ^ "Définition de l’Occitanie" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, website of the town of Agen.
- ^ Occitània with a grave accent on à according to the classical norm . The variant Occitania*—without accent—is considered incorrect. See the normative grammar of Alibert (p. Viii) and the recommendations of the Conselh de la Lenga Occitana (p. 101).
- ^ Writing according to mistralian graph.
- ISBN 978-1-4051-1714-2.
- ISBN 2222047153.
- ISBN 2010060393.
- ^ "Map of the Roman Empire circa 400 CE".
- ^ Julien Bellarbre, The Aquitaine nation in the monastic historiography of the South of the Loire (8th-12th centuries)", Journal of the French Institute of History in Germany [Online], 6 | 2014, posted on 31 December 2014.
- ^ "Map of the Visigoth Kingdom".
- ^ Pierre Bec, The Occitan Language, Publisher Presses universitaires de France, Paris, 1986, pp. 3.
- ^ "Occitanie - Conseil départemental de Lot et Garonne". www.lotetgaronne.fr.
- ^ "Definition of Occitanie" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, site of the City of Agen
- ISBN 978-3-7995-7340-5. Retrieved 15 March 2016..
- ISBN 978-2-600-04531-5. Archived from the originalon 17 March 2016.
- ^ Paul Ourliac (1968). Sur une province française. Vol. 3. pp. 190–195.
{{cite book}}
:|magazine=
ignored (help) - ^ Henry Gilles (1965). The States of Languedoc at 15th c. Toulouse: Éditions Privat.
- ^ Jean Guérout (1967). Henri Gilles. Les États de Languedoc au XV. Toulouse, Édouard Privat, 1965. In-8o, 363 p., couverture illustrée. (Bibliothèque méridionale, 2e série, XL.) (in French). Vol. 125. pp. 285–295.
{{cite book}}
:|magazine=
ignored (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h "county of Foix". Larousse Encyclopedia Online (in French). Éditions Larousse.
- ISBN 978-2-84050-151-0.
- BnF 153258873.
- BnF 11940604q.
- BnF 12494240r.
- BnF 12494275d.
- BnF 12494237v.
- ^ "Rosselló i Cerdanya County" (in Catalan). Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana online..
- ISBN 978-2-01-140018-5.
- BnF 124999479.
- ^ Règlement fait par le Roi [en Conseil] sur la formation et la composition des assemblées qui auront lieu dans la province de Roussillon (Versailles, 15 août 1787). Paris: Imprimerie royale. 1787..
- BnF 11685874z.
- ISBN 978-2-221-12482-6..