Lot-et-Garonne (, oc, Òlt e Garona) is a department in the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

of Southwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Named after the rivers Lot and

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – ...

, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.Populations légales 2019: 47 Lot-et-Garonne
INSEE Its

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

and largest city is

Agen The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. Geography The city of Agen lies in the southwestern departme ...

History

Lot-et-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created on 4 March 1790, as a result of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. It was created from part of the province of

Guyenne Guyenne or Guienne (, ; oc, Guiana ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the archdiocese of Bordeaux. The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transformation o ...

and

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part ...

; originally the territory of the ancient county of Agenais constituted nearly the whole. The southeastern part of the original department (the former cantons of

Auvillar Auvillar (; oc, Autvilar) is a commune in the department of Tarn-et-Garonne and the Occitanie region, situated at the edge of the Lomagne region on the banks of the Garonne river. Since 1994, Auvillar has been voted one of the "most beautiful vi ...

, Montaigu-de-Quercy and Valence) was separated from it in 1808 to become a part of the newly created department of

Tarn-et-Garonne Tarn-et-Garonne (; oc, Tarn e Garona ) is a department in the Occitania region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its name. The area was originally part of the former provinces of Quercy and ...

Geography

Lot-et-Garonne is part of the current region of

and is surrounded by the departments of Lot,

Gers Gers (; oc, Gers or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in French. In 2019, it had a population of 191,377.

Landes ''Landes'', or ''Lanas'' in Gascon, means moorland or heath. ''Landes'' and ''Lanas'' come from the Latin ''plānus'' meaning “‘flat, even, level, plain’”. They are therefore cognate with the English plain (and plane), the Spanish word ''l ...

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,6 ...

, and

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named ...

. The north of the department is composed of limestone hills. Between Lot and

, there is a plateau carved by many valleys. In the west of the department, the

Landes forest The Landes forest (; La forêt des Landes in French) in the Landes de Gascogne (las Lanas de Gasconha in the Gascon language), in the historic Gascony natural region of southwestern France now known as Aquitaine, is the largest man-made woodland ...

is planted in sand. It's composed of maritime pines. Between the forest and

, there is the Albret, a very hilly country.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 7,000 inhabitants:

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called ''Lot-et-Garonnais''. Population development since 1801:

Politics

Departmental Council of Lot-et-Garonne

The Departmental Council of Lot-et-Garonne has 40 seats. In the 2015 departmental elections, the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of ...

(PS) secured 25 seats while The Republicans (LR) won 15 seats. Sophie Borderie (PS) has presided over the assembly since 2019.

Members of the National Assembly

Lot-et-Garonne elected the following members of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

during the 2017 legislative election:

Economy

Food-processing, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals are all major industries of the department.

Tourism

File:Agen, Lot-et-Garonne, France.JPG,

File:Cloitre de Notre Dame de Marmande.JPG,

Marmande Marmande (; in Occitan, ''Marmanda'') is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne ''département'' in south-western France. Geography Marmande is located 35 km north-west of Agen, on the southern railway from Bordeaux to Sète. The town is situa ...

File:Villeneuve-sur-Lot.JPG,

Villeneuve-sur-Lot Villeneuve-sur-Lot (; in the Languedocien dialect of Occitan language: ''Vilanuèva d'Òlt'' ) is a town and commune in the southwestern French department of Lot-et-Garonne. The commune was formerly named ''Villeneuve-d'Agen''. Villeneuve-sur-Lo ...

File:Chateau de Duras 01.jpg, Duras File:ChâteauDeNérac.jpg, Nérac File:Monflanquin - Maison dite du Prince Noir -2.jpg, Monflanquin

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
*
Departmental Council website
* *
Chamber of Commerce and Industry website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lot-Et-Garonne 1790 establishments in France Departments of Nouvelle-Aquitaine States and territories established in 1790