| Coordinates | 43°39′N 0°35′E |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Occitanie |
| Prefecture | Auch |
| Parts style | para |
| P 1 | Condom Mirande |
| Leader party | PS |
| President of the Departmental Council | Philippe Dupouy[1] |
| Unit pref | Metric |
| Area total | 6257 km² |
| Population rank | 90th |
| Department number | 32 |
| Arrondissements | 3 |
| Cantons | 17 |
| Communes | 458 |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| Time zone (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
The Gers (ʒɛʁ(s); Occitan: Gers or Gerç, dʒɛɾs) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. The Gers is bordered by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques to the south, Haute-Garonne and Tarn-et-Garonne to the east, Lot-et-Garonne to the north and Landes to the west.[2] Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the Gersois and Gersoises in French. In 2023, it had a population of 192,645.[3]
History
The Gers 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. In 1808 it lost Lavit on its north-eastern side to the newly created department of Tarn-et-Garonne.[4]
Culture
The culture is largely agricultural, with great emphasis on the local gastronomical specialties such as:
- Armagnac brandy;
- Côtes de Gascogne;
- Floc de Gascogne;
- Foie gras;
- Wild mushrooms.
Also, some prominent cultivated crops are maize, colza, sunflowers and grain.
The Gascon language is a dialect of Occitan, but it is not widely spoken. The department is characterised by sleepy bastide villages and rolling hills with the Pyrenees visible to the south. Alexandre Dumas, père created the famous Gersois d'Artagnan, the fourth musketeer of The Three Musketeers. A museum to d'Artagnan is found in the Gersois village of Lupiac.
A horse race at the Auteuil Hippodrome has been named after André Boingnères, a notable local race-horse owner and the successful Mayor of Termes-d'Armagnac between 1951 and 1976.
Politics
Departmental Council of Gers
The President of the Departmental Council of the Gers has been Philippe Dupouy of the Socialist Party since 2022.[1] He succeeded Philippe Martin, also from the Socialist Party, who had been in office since 2014. The assembly comprises 34 seats, allocated as follows since the 2015 departmental elections:
| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| • | Socialist Party | 22 |
| The Republicans | 12 | |
Members of the National Assembly
The Gers elected the following members of the National Assembly during the 2017 legislative election:
| Constituency | Member[5] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gers's 1st constituency | Jean-René Cazeneuve | Renaissance | |
| Gers's 2nd constituency | David Taupiac | Socialist Party | |
Demography
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 257,609 | — |
| 1806 | 287,021 | +11.4% |
| 1821 | 301,336 | +5.0% |
| 1831 | 312,160 | +3.6% |
| 1841 | 311,447 | −0.2% |
| 1851 | 307,479 | −1.3% |
| 1861 | 298,931 | −2.8% |
| 1872 | 284,717 | −4.8% |
| 1881 | 281,532 | −1.1% |
| 1891 | 261,084 | −7.3% |
| 1901 | 238,448 | −8.7% |
| 1911 | 221,994 | −6.9% |
| 1921 | 194,406 | −12.4% |
| 1931 | 193,134 | −0.7% |
| 1936 | 192,451 | −0.4% |
| 1946 | 190,431 | −1.0% |
| 1954 | 185,111 | −2.8% |
| 1962 | 182,264 | −1.5% |
| 1968 | 181,577 | −0.4% |
| 1975 | 175,366 | −3.4% |
| 1982 | 174,154 | −0.7% |
| 1990 | 174,587 | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 172,335 | −1.3% |
| 2007 | 183,615 | +6.5% |
| 2012 | 189,530 | +3.2% |
| 2017 | 191,091 | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 192,645 | +0.8% |
Located in Southwestern France, the Gers is amongst the least densely populated (31 people/km2 in 2023), least urban, or most rural, areas in all of Western Europe. As of 2023, there are 9 communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants:[7]
| Commune | Population (2023) |
|---|---|
| Auch | 22,428 |
| L'Isle-Jourdain | 9,537 |
| Condom | 6,473 |
| Fleurance | 6,247 |
| Eauze | 4,108 |
| Lectoure | 3,670 |
| Vic-Fezensac | 3,577 |
| Mirande | 3,457 |
| Gimont | 3,146 |
Climate
Annual rainfall varies from more than 900 mm in the south-west of the department, to less than 700 mm in the North-East (Auch, Condom, Lectoure).
Winters are overall mild, with only occasional freezing temperatures. Summers are hot and dry. Together with Toulouse, Nîmes, Carpentras, Ajaccio, Marseille,Toulon and Perpignan, Auch is one of the hottest cities in France.
Tourism
According to recent data tourism represents annually:
- 610,000 tourists,
- 5,900,000 nights,
- 22,100 commercial beds,
- 2,400 tourism-related jobs,
- Tourists account for an equivalent of 17,100 permanent inhabitants,
- their estimated expenditure is €141,000,000.
See also
References
- ^ "Philippe Dupouy succède à Philippe Martin à la tête du département du Gers". France 3. 25 January 2022.
- ^ Vol. 11. p. 904.
- ^ Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE
- ^ The Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: Tai-Wan to Titlarks, Volume 24. London: Charles Knight and Co. 1842. pp. 63–64.
- ^ Nationale, Assemblée. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale
- ^ "Historique du Gers". Le SPLAF
- ^ Populations de référence 2023: 23 Gers, INSEE
External links
- (in French) Departmental Council website
- (in French) Prefecture website
- Welcome to the Gers in Gascony Tourisme Gers - Vos vacances en France dans le Gers, coeur du Sud Ouest et de l'Occitanie