Haute-Garonne

Haute-Garonne is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. In 2019, it had a population of 1,400,039.
History
Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former provinces of Languedoc and Guyenne/Gascony.
The department was originally larger. The reduction in its area resulted from an imperial decree dated 21 November 1808 and which established the neighbouring department of Tarn-et-Garonne, to the north. The new department, created in response to the pleadings of various locally powerful politicians, took territory from five surrounding departments including Haute-Garonne. The districts lost to Tarn-et-Garonne in 1808 were those of Montech and Castelsarrasin.
Geography
Haute-Garonne is part of the current region of Occitanie and is surrounded by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées, Gers, Tarn-et-Garonne, Tarn, Aude, and Ariège. It also borders Spain in the south (province of Lleida and province of Huesca). According to the Köppen climate classification, the Haute-Garonne department has a humid subtropical climate, oceanic climate, subarctic climate and polar climate.
The department is crossed by the upper course of the Garonne river (hence the name) for nearly . The borders of the department follow the river. The Garonne enters France from Spain at the town of Fos, and goes through Toulouse and leaves the department. The extreme south of the department lies in the Pyrenees mountain range and is very mountainous. The highest elevation is the Peak of Perdiguère, at above sea level.
Demographics
The inhabitants of the department are called Haut-Garonnais. The greatest population concentration is around Toulouse. The south of the department is quite sparsely populated. Overall the department had a population of 1.4 million as of the 2019 census. Young people are well represented with 55% of the population under the age of 40; 16% are between the ages of 20 and 29. This is in part because Toulouse is an important university town. The department has also received significant migration from other parts of the country.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Toulouse, the prefecture. As of 2019, there were eight communes with more than 15,000 inhabitants:
Politics
This department was the political base of former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
Departmental Council of Haute-Garonne
The Departmental Council of Haute-Garonne comprises 54 seats. In the 2015 departmental elections, the Socialist Party (PS) won 48 seats. The Republicans secured the remaining 6 seats. The President of the Departmental Council has been Georges Méric (PS) since 2015.
Members of the National Assembly
Haute-Garonne elected the following members of the National Assembly during the 2017 legislative election:
Tourism
Main sights
Haute-Garonne's main sights include:
Winter sports
The department has four ski resorts:
Peyragudes (1600 m -2450 m), 55 km of slopes
Luchon-Superbagnères (1440 m - 2260 m), 30 km of slopes
Le Mourtis (1380 m - 1816 m), 22 km of slopes
Bourg-d'Oueil (1350 m - 1500 m)
See also
Cantons of the Haute-Garonne department
Communes of the Haute-Garonne department
Arrondissements of the Haute-Garonne department
References
External links
Departmental Council website
Prefecture website
Tourism website
Photography Panoramics 360° website
1790 establishments in France
Departments of Occitania (administrative region)
Occitanie region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia
Massif Central
States and territories established in 1790