Wikipedia

Gironde

French department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
For other uses, see Gironde (disambiguation).

Gironde (Occitan: Gironda) is a department in the southwest of France. It is named after the Gironde estuary.

Gironde
Department
Prefecture building of the Gironde department, in Bordeaux
Prefecture building of the Gironde department, in Bordeaux
Flag of Gironde
Flag
Coat of arms
Coat of arms
Location of Gironde in France
Location of Gironde in France
Coordinates: 44°50′N 0°40′W / 44.833°N 0.667°W / 44.833; -0.667
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
Département4 March 1790
PrefectureBordeaux
SubprefecturesArcachon, Blaye, Langon, Lesparre-Médoc, Libourne
Government
[1]
 • PresidentJean-Luc Gleyze
Area
[2]
 • Total9,975.6 km2 (3,851.6 sq mi)
Population
 (2014)[3]
 • Total1,526,016
 • Density150/km2 (400/sq mi)
DemonymGirondins
Time zoneUTC 1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC 2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeFR-33
Arrondissements6
Cantons33
Communes538
Websitewww.gironde.fr

The department is in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Its prefecture is Bordeaux.

History

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Gironde was formed during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with parts of the old provinces of Guyenne and Gascony.

From July 1793 to April 1795, the department's name was changed to Bec-d'Ambès to avoid the association with the Girondists, a French revolutionary group.

The department was divided into seven districts: Bordeaux, Libourne, La Réole, Bazas, Cadillac, Blaye and Lesparre. Its capital was the city of Bordeaux.[4]

Geography

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Gironde is part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, southwestern France, and is the largest department of Metropolitan France with an area of 9,975.6 km2 (3,852 sq mi).[2]

There four main zones in the Gironde; they are:

  1. the coastal zone, including part of the Côte d'Argent ("Silver coast");
  2. the forest that covers the western half of the department;
  3. the Bordelais, region around Bordeaux and where the different kinds of Bordeaux wines are produced; and
  4. the Bazadais, the region around the town of Bazas, in the soutwest of the department and where farming is very important.

The department is bordered by the departments: Charente-Maritime, Dordogne, Lot-et-Garonne and Landes. The Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Biscay) is to the west of the department.

The main rivers in the department are the Dordogne and the Garonne rivers; the two rivers form, after their confluence, the Gironde estuary, the largest estuary of France.

Climate

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The climate in Bordeaux is Marine West Coast Climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with mild winters and warm summers.[5]

The average temperature for the year in Bordeaux is 13.8 °C (56.8 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 21.4 °C (70.5 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 6.6 °C (43.9 °F).

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Bordeaux is 850.9 mm (33.5 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is November with 88.9 mm (3.5 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is July with an average of 53.3 mm (2.1 in).[5]

Administration

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Gironde is part of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and is managed by the Departmental Council of Gironde in Bordeaux.

Administrative divisions

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There are 6 arrondissements (districts), 33 cantons and 538 communes (municipalities) in Gironde.[6]

INSEE
code		 Arrondissement Capital Population[7]
(2014)		 Area[8]
(km²)		 Density
(Inh./km²)		 Communes
331 Blaye Blaye 88,115 782.4 112.6 63
332 Bordeaux Bordeaux 921,668 1,521.8 605.6 82
333 Langon Langon 130,911 2,644.3 49.5 197
334 Lesparre-Médoc Lesparre-Médoc 86,560 2,274.4 38.1 50
335 Libourne Libourne 152,602 1,282.9 119.0 129
336 Arcachon Arcachon 146,160 1,469.8 99.4 17

The following is a list of the 33 cantons of the Gironde department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:[9]

  1. Andernos-les-Bains (3301)
  2. Bordeaux-1 (3302)
  3. Bordeaux-2 (3303)
  4. Bordeaux-3 (3304)
  5. Bordeaux-4 (3305)
  6. Bordeaux-5 (3306)
  7. Le Bouscat (3307)
  8. La Brède (3308)
  9. Cenon (3309)
  10. Les Coteaux de Dordogne (3310)
  11. Créon (3311)
  12. L'Entre-Deux-Mers (3312)
  13. L'Estuaire (3313)
  14. Gujan-Mestras (3314)
  15. Les Landes des Graves (3315)
  16. Le Libournais-Fronsadais (3316)
  17. Lormont (3317)
  18. Mérignac-1 (3318)
  19. Mérignac-2 (3319)
  20. Le Nord-Gironde (3320)
  21. Le Nord-Libournais (3321)
  22. Le Nord-Médoc (3322)
  23. Pessac-1 (3323)
  24. Pessac-2 (3324)
  25. Les Portes du Médoc (3325)
  26. La Presqu'île (3326)
  27. Le Réolais et Les Bastides (3327)
  28. Saint-Médard-en-Jalles (3328)
  29. Le Sud-Gironde (3329)
  30. Le Sud-Médoc (3330)
  31. Talence (3331)
  32. La Teste-de-Buch (3332)
  33. Villenave-d'Ornon (3333)

Demographics

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The inhabitants of Gironde are known, in French, as Girondins (women: Girondines).[10]

The department of Gironde has a population, in 2014, of 1,526,016,[3] for a population density of 152.97 inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Bordeaux, with 921,668 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The arrondissements of Blaye and Lesparre-Médoc are those with less people, with 88,115 and 86,560 inhabitants.[7]

Evolution of the population in Gironde

The main cities in the department are:

City Population[7]
(2014) 		Arrondissement
Bordeaux 246,586 Bordeaux
Mérignac 69,301 Bordeaux
Pessac 61,514 Bordeaux
Talence 41,182 Bordeaux
Villenave-d'Ornon 31,027 Bordeaux
Saint-Médard-en-Jalles 29,779 Bordeaux
Bègles 26,437 Bordeaux
La Teste-de-Buch 25,990 Arcachon
Gradignan 24,841 Bordeaux
Libourne 24,595 Libourne
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References

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  1. ↑ "L'institution départementale" (in French). Conseil départamental de la Gironde. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Département de La Gironde (33) - Résumé statistique". Publications et statistiques pour la France ou les régions (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Populations légales 2014: Recensement de la population - Régions, départements, arrondissements, cantons et communes" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  4. ↑ "Historique de la Gironde". Le SPLAF (in French). Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Bordeaux, France - Köppen Climate Classification". Weatherbase. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  6. ↑ "Département de la Gironde (33)". Géographie administrative et d'étude (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Régions, départements, arrondissements, cantons et communes" (PDF). Populations légales 2014 (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  8. ↑ "Département des Landes (40)". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  9. ↑ "Décret n° 2014-192 du 20 février 2014 portant délimitation des cantons dans le département de la Gironde" (in French). Légifrance.gouv.fr. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Gironde (33)" (in French). habitants.fr. Retrieved 20 April 2015.

Other websites

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