| Région Centre | ||
|---|---|---|
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Image:CentreLogo1.gif | |
| Region flag | Region logo | |
| Location | ||
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| Administration | ||
| Capital | Orléans | |
| Regional President | François Bonneau (2007-) | |
| Departments | Cher Eure-et-Loir Indre Indre-et-Loire Loir-et-Cher Loiret |
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| Arrondissements | 20 | |
| Cantons | 198 | |
| Communes | 1,842 | |
| Statistics | ||
| Land area1 | 39,151 km² | |
| Population | (Ranked 9th) | |
| - January 1, 2007 est. This article is about the French city of Orléans for other meanings see Orleans (disambiguation. In France, the president of the regional council (French Président du conseil régional) is the elected official who heads the Conseil régional In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division Cher ( Occitan: Char) is an administrative department located in the centre of France. Eure-et-Loir is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers Indre is a department in the center of France named after the Indre River. Indre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers Loir-et-Cher is a department in north-central France named after the rivers Loir and Cher. Loiret is a department in north-central France named after the Loiret River. The 100 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 341 arrondissements and 100 departments. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. The following are ranked lists of French regions. Population figures are from the 1999 census To help compare Orders of magnitude of different geographical regions Areas between 10000 km² and 100000 km² are listed here The following are ranked lists of French regions. Population figures are from the 1999 census New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. | 2,515,000 | |
| - March 8, 1999 census | 2,440,329 | |
| - Density (2007) | 64/km² | |
| 1 French Land Register data, which exclude lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km² (0. Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) The following are ranked lists of French regions. Population figures are from the 1999 census 386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers |
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Centre is one of the 26 regions of France, located towards the northwest of the actual centre of the country. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Its capital is Orléans, although its largest city is Tours. This article is about the French city of Orléans for other meanings see Orleans (disambiguation. Tours is a city in France the Préfecture (capital city of the Indre-et-Loire département, on the lower reaches of the river
Contents |
History
Centre is composed of the following former provinces of France:
- Orléanais
- Touraine
- Berry
- a part of Perche (the rest of Perche lies in the regions of Lower Normandy and Pays-de-la-Loire)
Features
The main feature of Centre is the Loire Valley. The Kingdom of France was organised into Provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département Orléanais is a former Province of France, around the cities of Orléans, Chartres, and Blois. Touraine may also refer to Alain Touraine, French sociologist Berry is a region located in the center of France It was a province of France until the provinces were replaced by départements ' on March 4, Perche is a former province of northern France extending over the départements of Orne, Eure, Eure-et-Loir and Basse-Normandie ('Lower Normandy' is an administrative region of France. Pays de la Loire is one of the 26 Regions of France. It is one of the regions created in the late 20th century to serve as a zone of influence for its capital Nantes Loire Valley (Vallée de la Loire is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language. It includes the rich, fertile valleys of the Loire River and its tributaries: Cher, Indre, Loiret, etc. The Loire River (lwaʁ in French) is the longest River in France. The Cher is a River in central France, left tributary to the river Loire. The Indre is a River in central France, left tributary to the river Loire. The Loiret River, in France, is a 12 km long left tributary to the Loire River. It is in Centre that are located the famous châteaux of the Loire Valley, which attract many tourists to the region. Loire Valley (Vallée de la Loire is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language.
Name
The name Centre was chosen by the French central government based purely on geography, as Centre is composed of too many historical provinces to use a historical name. However, Centre is not in the geographical centre of France, and the name is criticized as being dull and nondescript.
It has been proposed to rename the region Val de Loire (i. e. "Valley of the Loire"), which would give more character to the name of the region. Val de Loire is a name associated with positive images of the Loire Valley, such as the chateaux, the gentle and refined lifestyle, wine, the mild and temperate climate, and so on. Loire Valley (Vallée de la Loire is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language. The name change has not yet been adopted, but the term is sometimes used next to the name of the region, as in Centre - Val de Loire
Major communities
See also
External links
- Région Centre Official website
- (English) Centre at the Open Directory Project
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