Vaucluse

For other uses, see Vaucluse (disambiguation).

Vaucluse (French: [voklyz]; Provençal: Vauclusa (Classical norm) or Vau-Cluso (Mistralian norm)) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019. The department's prefecture is Avignon.

Vaucluse Vauclusa (Occitan)
Department
From top down, left to right: prefecture building and Palais des Papes in Avignon, Gordes (considered one of the most beautiful villages of France), Sénanque Abbey, Sorgue River and Nesque River
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Vaucluse in France
Coordinates: 44°00′N 05°10′E
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Prefecture	Avignon
Subprefectures	Apt Carpentras
Government
• President of the Departmental Council	Dominique Santoni (LR)
Area 1
• Total	3,520 km2 (1,360 sq mi)
Population  (2021)
• Total	564,566
• Rank	47th
• Density	160/km2 (420/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC 1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC 2 (CEST)
Department number	84
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	17
Communes	151
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2

It is named after a spring, the Fontaine de Vaucluse, one of the largest karst springs in the world. The name Vaucluse itself derives from the Latin Vallis Clausa ("closed valley") as the valley ends in a cliff face from which the spring emanates.

History

Vaucluse was created on 12 August 1793 out of parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme and Basses-Alpes, later renamed Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The then rural department was, like the nearby city of Lyon, a hotbed of the French Resistance in World War II.

Geography

The Fontaine de Vaucluse is the source of the Sorgue. It is characterised by an upward movement of water from the depth of over 315 metres (1,033 ft).

Vaucluse is bordered by the Rhône to the west and the Durance to the south. Mountains occupy a significant proportion of the eastern half of the department, with Mont Ventoux (1,912 m), also known as "the Giant of Provence", dominating the landscape. Other important mountain ranges include the Dentelles de Montmirail, the Monts de Vaucluse and the Luberon.

The northern part of the department, the Canton of Valréas, forms an enclave within the department Drôme.

Fruit and vegetables are cultivated in great quantities in the lower-lying parts of the department, on one of the most fertile plains in Southern France. The Vaucluse department has a rather large exclave within the Drôme department, the canton of Valréas (Enclave des Papes).

Vaucluse is also known for its karst, including the karst spring Fontaine de Vaucluse after which "Vauclusian Risings" are named.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Avignon, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 6 communes with more than 20,000 inhabitants:

Commune	Population (2019)
Avignon	91,143
Carpentras	29,236
Orange	28,772
Cavaillon	26,236
Pertuis	20,557
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue	20,042

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1801 191,421 —     1806 205,833 1.46% 1821 224,431 0.58% 1831 239,113 0.64% 1841 251,080 0.49% 1851 264,618 0.53% 1861 268,255 0.14% 1872 263,451 −0.16% 1881 244,149 −0.84% 1891 235,411 −0.36% 1901 236,949 0.07% 1911 238,656 0.07% 1921 219,602 −0.83% 1931 241,689 0.96%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1936 245,508 0.31% 1946 249,838 0.17% 1954 268,318 0.90% 1962 303,536 1.55% 1968 353,966 2.59% 1975 390,446 1.41% 1982 427,343 1.30% 1990 467,075 1.12% 1999 499,685 0.75% 2006 534,291 0.96% 2011 546,630 0.46% 2016 559,014 0.45% 2019 561,469 0.15% 2020 561,941 0.08%
Sources:

Politics

Departmental Council

Main article: Departmental Council of Vaucluse

Departmental Council of Vaucluse

Composition since the 2021 election

Following the 2021 departmental election, Dominique Santoni of The Republicans was elected President of the Departmental Council. She succeeded Maurice Chabert, who had held the office since 2015.

The Departmental Council of Vaucluse has 34 seats. The Left Front (FG) currently has 2 seats, the Socialist Party (PS) has 7, Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV) has 3, the miscellaneous right (DVD) has 2, The Republicans (LR) have 10, the National Rally has 6 and a local party, the Ligue du Sud (LS), has 4.

Members of the National Assembly

2022 legislative election

In the 2022 legislative election, Vaucluse elected the following representatives to the National Assembly:

Constituency		Member	Party
	Vaucluse's 1st constituency	Joris Hébrard	National Rally
	Vaucluse's 2nd constituency	Bénédicte Auzanot	National Rally
	Vaucluse's 3rd constituency	Hervé de Lépinau	National Rally
	Vaucluse's 4th constituency	Marie-France Lorho	Ligue du Sud
	Vaucluse's 5th constituency	Jean-François Lovisolo	Renaissance

2017 legislative election

During the 2017 legislative election, Vaucluse elected the following representatives to the National Assembly:

Constituency		Member	Party
	Vaucluse's 1st constituency	Jean-François Cesarini	La République En Marche!
	Vaucluse's 2nd constituency	Jean-Claude Bouchet	The Republicans
	Vaucluse's 3rd constituency	Brune Poirson	La République En Marche!
	Vaucluse's 4th constituency	Jacques Bompard	League of the South
	Vaucluse's 5th constituency	Julien Aubert	The Republicans

*On 21 July 2017, Brune Poirson resigned from office to join the Second Philippe government as Secretary of State to the Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition. She was replaced in the National Assembly by Adrien Morenas.

**Jacques Bompard resigned in August 2017 to become Mayor of Orange. He was replaced by Marie-France Lorho.

Tourism

• 
  Pont Saint-Bénezet in Avignon
• 
  Brantes
• 
  Triumphal Arch of Orange
• 
  Dentelles de Montmirail

See also

• Arrondissements of the Vaucluse department
• Communes of the Vaucluse department
• Cantons of the Vaucluse department

External links

• (in French) Website of the Departmental Council Archived 2018-09-06 at the Wayback Machine
• (in French) Prefecture website