NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Centre (France)

Centre is one of the 26 regions of France, located towards the northwest of the country. Its capital is Orléans. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Map of Centre, by Rinaldum. ... OrlÃ©ans Cathedral, dedicated to the Holy Cross, built from 1278 to 1329; after being pillaged by Huguenots in the 1560s, the Bourbon kings restored it in the 17th century. ... In France, the president of the regional council (French: PrÃ©sident du conseil rÃ©gional) is the elected official who heads the conseil rÃ©gional of a rÃ©gion, a state-level territory. ... The Socialist Party (French: Parti Socialiste or PS) is the main opposition party in France. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France, roughly analogous to British counties and are now grouped into 22 metropolitan and four overseas régions. ... Cher is a dÃ©partement in the center of France. ... Eure-et-Loir is a French département, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. ... Indre is a dÃ©partement in the center of France named after the Indre River. ... Indre-et-Loire is a dÃ©partement in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers. ... Loir-et-Cher is a dÃ©partement in north-central France named after its two principal rivers. ... Loiret is a dÃ©partement in north-central France named after the Loiret River. ... The 100 French dÃ©partements are divided into 342 arrondissements. ... The canton is an administrative division of France. ... Map of the 36,568 communes of metropolitan France. ... To help compare orders of magnitude of different geographical regions, we list here areas between 10,000 kmÂ² and 100,000 kmÂ². See also areas of other orders of magnitude. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in Leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... // The following are ranked lists of French rÃ©gions. ... Estuaries and coastal waters are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth, providing ecological, economic, cultural, and aesthetic benefits. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... France is divided into 26 régions, further subdivided into départements. ... OrlÃ©ans Cathedral, dedicated to the Holy Cross, built from 1278 to 1329; after being pillaged by Huguenots in the 1560s, the Bourbon kings restored it in the 17th century. ...

History

Centre is composed of the following former provinces of France: The Kingdom of France was organized into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the dÃ©partement system superseded provinces. ...

OrlÃ©anais is a former province of France, around the cities of OrlÃ©ans, Chartres, and Blois. ... The Touraine is a former province of France. ... Berry was a province of France until the provinces were replaced by départements on March 4, 1790. ... A Percheron draft horse Perche is a region of northern France extending over the dÃ©partements of Orne, Eure, Eure-et-Loir and Sarthe. ... Région Basse-Normandie Missing image Coat of Arms of Basse-Normandie Details Information Capital: Caen Population - Total - Density 1,422,193 (1999 census) 1,443,000 (1. ... Location Administration Capital Nantes Regional President Jacques Auxiette (PS) (since 2004) DÃ©partements Loire-Atlantique Mayenne Maine-et-Loire Sarthe VendÃ©e Arrondissements 17 Cantons 192 Communes 1,503 Statistics Land area1 32,082 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 5th) - January 1, 2005 est. ...

Features

The main feature of Centre is the Loire Valley. It includes the rich, fertile valleys of the Loire River and its tributaries: Cher, Indre, Eure, etc. It is in Centre that are located the famous châteaux of the Loire Valley, which attract many tourists to the region. Loire Valley (French: VallÃ©e de la Loire) is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language. ... The Loire River (pronounced in French), the longest river in France with a length of just over 1000 km, drains an area of 117,000 kmÂ², more than a fifth of France. ... Cher is a river in central France, tributary to the river Loire. ... Indre is a river in central France, tributary to the river Loire. ... The Eure River is a river in northern France. ... The chÃ¢teaux of the Loire Valley (Val de Loire) number more than 300. ...

Name

The name Centre is criticized by many in France as being overly bland. It 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. 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 The chÃ¢teaux of the Loire Valley (Val de Loire) number more than 300. ...

Regions of France

onmouseover="pv(event, 53)" onmouseout="unpv(53)" style="">Alsace • Aquitaine • Auvergne • Bourgogne • Bretagne • Centre • Champagne-Ardenne • Corsica • Franche-Comté • Île-de-France • Languedoc-Roussillon • Limousin • Lorraine • Midi-Pyrénées • Nord-Pas de Calais • Basse-Normandie • Haute-Normandie • Pays de la Loire • Picardie • Poitou-Charentes • Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur • Rhône-Alpes Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... France is divided into 26 régions, further subdivided into départements. ... Location Administration Capital Strasbourg Regional President Adrien Zeller (UMP) (since 1996) DÃ©partements Bas-Rhin Haut-Rhin Arrondissements 13 Cantons 75 Communes 903 Statistics Land area1 8,280 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 14th) - January 1, 2005 est. ... Location Administration Capital Bordeaux Regional President Alain Rousset (PS) (since 1998) DÃ©partements Dordogne Gironde Landes Lot-et-Garonne PyrÃ©nÃ©es-Atlantiques Arrondissements 18 Cantons 235 Communes 2,296 Statistics Land area1 41,309 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 6th) - January 1, 2005 est. ... (RÃ©gion flag) (RÃ©gion logo) Location Administration Capital Clermont-Ferrand Regional President RenÃ© Souchon (PS) (since 2006) Departments Allier Cantal Haute-Loire Puy-de-DÃ´me Arrondissements 14 Cantons 158 Communes 1,310 Statistics Land area1 26,013 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 19th) - January 1, 2005 est. ... Location Administration Capital Dijon Regional President FranÃ§ois Patriat (PS) (since 2004) DÃ©partements Yonne CÃ´te-dOr NiÃ¨vre SaÃ´ne-et-Loire Arrondissements 15 Cantons 174 Communes 2,045 Statistics Land area1 31,582 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 16th) - January 1, 2005 est. ... Location Administration Capital Rennes Regional President Jean-Yves Le Drian (PS) (since 2004) DÃ©partements CÃ´tes-dArmor Ille-et-Vilaine Morbihan FinistÃ¨re Arrondissements 15 Cantons 201 Communes 1,268 Statistics Land area1 27,209 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 7th) - January 1, 2005 est. ... Capital ChÃ¢lons-en-Champagne Land areaÂ¹ 25,606 kmÂ² Regional President Jean-Paul Bachy (PS) (since 2004) Population - Jan. ... For other uses, see Corsica (disambiguation). ... Capital BesanÃ§on Land areaÂ¹ 16,202 kmÂ² Regional President Raymond Forni (PS) (since 2004) Population - Jan. ... (RÃ©gion flag) (RÃ©gion logo) Location Administration Capital Paris Regional President Jean-Paul Huchon (PS) (since 1998) Departments Essonne Hauts-de-Seine Paris Seine-Saint-Denis Seine-et-Marne Val-de-Marne Val-dOise Yvelines Arrondissements 25 Cantons 317 Communes 1,281 Statistics Land area1 12,011 km... Capital Montpellier Land areaÂ¹ 27,376 kmÂ² Regional President Georges FrÃªche (PS) (since 2004) Population - Jan. ... (RÃ©gion flag) (RÃ©gion logo) Location Administration Capital Limoges Regional President Jean-Paul Denanot (PS) (since 2004) Departments CorrÃ¨ze Creuse Haute-Vienne Arrondissements 8 Cantons 106 Communes 747 Statistics Land area1 16,942 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 22nd) - January 1, 2005 est. ... (RÃ©gion flag) (RÃ©gion logo) Location Administration Capital Metz Regional President Jean-Pierre Masseret (PS) (since 2004) Departments Meurthe-et-Moselle Meuse Moselle Vosges Arrondissements 19 Cantons 157 Communes 2,337 Statistics Land area1 23,547 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 11th) - January 1, 2005 est. ... Capital Toulouse Land areaÂ¹ 45,348 kmÂ² Regional President Martin Malvy (PS) (since 1998) Population - Jan. ... Capital Lille Area 12,414 km² Regional President Daniel Percheron (PS) (since 2001) Population - 2004 estimate - 1999 census - Density (Ranked 4th) 4,026,000 3,996,588 324/km² (2004) Arrondissements 13 Cantons 156 Communes 1,546 Départements Nord Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas de Calais is one of... Capital Caen Land areaÂ¹ 17,589 kmÂ² Regional President Philippe Duron (PS) (since 2004) Population - Jan. ... Capital Rouen Land areaÂ¹ 12,318 kmÂ² Regional President Alain Le Vern (PS) (since 1998) Population - Jan. ... Capital Nantes Land areaÂ¹ 32,082 kmÂ² Regional President Jacques Auxiette (PS) (since 2004) Population - Jan. ... (RÃ©gion flag) (RÃ©gion logo) Location Administration Capital Amiens Regional President Claude Gewerc (PS) (since 2004) DÃ©partements Aisne Oise Somme Arrondissements 13 Cantons 129 Communes 2,292 Statistics Land area1 19,399 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 12th) - January 1, 2005 est. ... Categories: Stub | Regions of France ... Location Administration Capital Marseille Regional President Michel Vauzelle (PS) (since 1998) DÃ©partements Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-Maritimes Bouches-du-RhÃ´ne Hautes-Alpes Var Vaucluse Arrondissements 18 Cantons 237 Communes 963 Statistics Land area1 31,400 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 3rd) - January 1, 2005 est. ... Location Administration Capital Lyon Regional President Jean-Jack Queyranne (PS) (since 2004) DÃ©partements Ain ArdÃ¨che DrÃ´me IsÃ¨re Loire RhÃ´ne Savoie Haute-Savoie Arrondissements 25 Cantons 335 Communes 2,879 Statistics Land area1 43,698 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 2nd) - January 1, 2005 est. ...

Overseas regions: French Guiana • Guadeloupe • Martinique • Réunion Overseas region (French: RÃ©gion doutre-mer), is a recent designation given to the overseas departments which have similar powers to those of the regions of metropolitan France. ...

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