Indre-et-Loire

Indre-et-Loire (French pronunciation: [ɛ̃.dʁ‿e.lwaʁ] (listen)) is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2016, it had a population of 606,223. Sometimes referred to as Touraine, the name of the historic region, it nowadays is part of the Centre-Val de Loire region. Its prefecture is Tours and subprefectures are Chinon and Loches. Indre-et-Loire is a touristic destination for its numerous monuments that are part of the Châteaux of the Loire Valley.

Indre-et-Loire
Department of France
Flag
Coat of arms
Location of Indre-et-Loire in France
Coordinates: 47°15′N 0°40′E
CountryFrance
RegionCentre-Val de Loire
PrefectureTours
SubprefecturesChinon
Loches
Government
 • President of the Departmental CouncilJean-Gérard Paumier (LR)
Area
 • Total6,127 km2 (2,366 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)
 • Total606,223
 • Rank41st
 • Density99/km2 (260/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number37
Arrondissements3
Cantons19
Communes272
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

History
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1801268,924—    
1851315,641+0.32%
1901335,541+0.12%
1911341,205+0.17%
1921327,743−0.40%
1931335,226+0.23%
1946349,685+0.28%
1954364,706+0.53%
1962395,210+1.01%
1968437,866+1.72%
1975478,597+1.28%
1982506,093+0.80%
1990529,345+0.56%
1999553,747+0.50%
2016606,223+0.53%
source:[1]

Early times

Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 departments established during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the former province of Touraine and of small portions of Orléanais, Anjou and Poitou.[2] Its prefecture Tours was a centre of learning in the Early Middle Ages, having been a key focus of Christian evangelisation since St Martin became its first bishop around 375. From the mid-15th century, the royal court repaired to the Loire Valley, with Tours as its capital; the confluence of the Loire River and Cher River became a centre of silk manufacturing and other luxury goods, including the wine trade, creating a prosperous bourgeoisie.

Recent years

After the creation of the department it remained politically conservative, as Honoré de Balzac recorded in several of his novels. Conservative Tours refused to welcome the railways which instead were obliged to route their lines by way of Saint-Pierre-des-Corps on the city's eastern edge. The moderate temper of the department's politics remained apparent after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870: sentiments remained predominantly pro-royalist during the early years of the Third Republic. For most of the nineteenth century, Indre-et-Loire was a rural department, but pockets of heavy-duty industrialisation began to appear towards the century's end, accompanied by left-wing politics. 1920 saw the birth of the French Communist Party at the Congress of Tours. By 1920, Saint-Pierre-des-Corps had become a major railway hub and a centre of railway workshops: it had also acquired a reputation as a bastion of working class solidarity.

Geography

Indre-et-Loire is part of the region of Centre-Val de Loire; it is surrounded by the departments of Loir-et-Cher, Indre, Vienne, Maine-et-Loire and Sarthe.

Politics

The President of the General Council is Marisol Touraine of the Socialist Party.

Partyseats
• Socialist Party18
Miscellaneous Right8
Union for a Popular Movement5
• Miscellaneous Left2
New Centre2
• French Communist Party1

Current National Assembly Representatives
ConstituencyMember[3]Party
Indre-et-Loire's 1st constituency Philippe Chalumeau La République En Marche!
Indre-et-Loire's 2nd constituency Daniel Labaronne La République En Marche!
Indre-et-Loire's 3rd constituency Sophie Auconie Union of Democrats and Independents
Indre-et-Loire's 4th constituency Fabienne Colboc La République En Marche!
Indre-et-Loire's 5th constituency Sabine Thillaye Ecology Democracy Solidarity

Tourism

Indre-et-Loire is home to numerous outstanding châteaux that are open to the public, among them are the following:

See also

References
  1. Site sur la Population et les Limites Administratives de la France
  2. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Indre-et-Loire" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 501.
  3. http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/
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