le Gers
Coat of arms of the le Gers department
Location
Administration
Department number:	32
Region:	Midi-Pyrénées
Prefecture:	Auch
Subprefectures:	Condom Mirande
Arrondissements:	3
Cantons:	31
Communes:	463
President of the General Council:	Philippe Martin PS
Statistics
Population	Ranked 89th
-1999	172,335
Population density:	28/km²
Land area¹:	6257 km²
¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km².

The Gers (French: le Gers, Occitan: Gers) is a department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest of France named after the Gers River.

History

In the Middle Ages, the Lordship of L'Isle-Jourdain was nearby.

The Gers is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Guyenne and Gascony.

Geography

Located in southwestern France, the Gers is part of the Midi-Pyrénées region. It is surrounded by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, Landes, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques. The Gers is often referred to as amongst the least densely populated, or most rural, areas in all of Western Europe.

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called les Gersois.

Culture

The culture is largely agricultural, with great emphasis on the local gastronomical specialties such as foie gras, Armagnac brandy and wild mushrooms.

The Gascon language is a dialect of Occitan, but it is not widely spoken.

There has been a heavy influence of waves of both British and Spanish immigrants.

Tourism

Between Toulouse and Bordeaux, in the South West of France, the Gers, heart of Gascony, welcomes you.

Country of d’Artagnan and the musketeers, our department holds the key to a charming stay in the countryside. It offers rolling and luminous landscapes, flavours and tones of character, a philosophy of the time, a culture of delight to all the senses, leisure activities propitious for recharging one’s batteries and tourism to be discovered all year round from fortified towns to fortified towns.

Through the magic of its traditional fairs, festivals and areas of light full of discoveries, the Gers in Gascony opens its doors to you.

http://www.tourisme-gers.com/gers-vacances/uk/home.asp

See also

• Cantons of the Gers department
• Communes of the Gers department
• Arrondissements of the Gers department

External links

• (French) General Council website
• (French) Prefecture website
• (French) Good Website on Gascony and the Gers
• (French) http://www.gers-gascogne.com/fr/default.asp
• Welcome to the Gers in Gascony http://www.tourisme-gers.com/gers-vacances/uk/home.asp
• (French) Gers Guide - Votre guide internet / annuaire de recherche sur le Gers et la Gascogne.
• (French) Gers net - Moteur de recherche gersois.

Departments of France

Ain • Aisne • Allier • Alpes-de-Haute-Provence • Hautes-Alpes • Alpes-Maritimes • Ardèche • Ardennes • Ariège • Aube • Aude • Aveyron • Bouches-du-Rhône • Calvados • Cantal • Charente • Charente-Maritime • Cher • Corrèze • Corse-du-Sud • Haute-Corse • Côte-d'Or • Côtes-d'Armor • Creuse • Dordogne • Doubs • Drôme • Eure • Eure-et-Loir • Finistère • Gard • Haute-Garonne • Gers • Gironde • Hérault • Ille-et-Vilaine • Indre • Indre-et-Loire • Isère • Jura • Landes • Loir-et-Cher • Loire • Haute-Loire • Loire-Atlantique • Loiret • Lot • Lot-et-Garonne • Lozère • Maine-et-Loire • Manche • Marne • Haute-Marne • Mayenne • Meurthe-et-Moselle • Meuse • Morbihan • Moselle • Nièvre • Nord • Oise • Orne • Pas-de-Calais • Puy-de-Dôme • Pyrénées-Atlantiques • Hautes-Pyrénées • Pyrénées-Orientales • Bas-Rhin • Haut-Rhin • Rhône • Haute-Saône • Saône-et-Loire • Sarthe • Savoie • Haute-Savoie • Paris • Seine-Maritime • Seine-et-Marne • Yvelines • Deux-Sèvres • Somme • Tarn • Tarn-et-Garonne • Var • Vaucluse • Vendée • Vienne • Haute-Vienne • Vosges • Yonne • Territoire de Belfort • Essonne • Hauts-de-Seine • Seine-Saint-Denis • Val-de-Marne • Val-d'Oise 

Overseas departments: Guadeloupe • Martinique • French Guiana • Réunion

frp:G·èrs (dèpartement)

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