Title: Alès Content: Alès  is a commune in south central France in the region of Occitanie. It is a subprefecture of the Gard department. It is also the capital of the arrondissement of the same name. It was formerly known as Alais. ==History== Since the creation of the Gard department on 4 March 1790, Alès has been a subprefecture of the department. ==Geography== Alès is at north-northwest of Nîmes, in a curve (meander) of the Le Gardon d'Alès river, which half surrounds it. It is at the foot of the Cévennes, near the Cévennes National Park. Alès has an area of , and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is . The commune of Alès is surrounded by the communes Saint- Jean-du-Pin, Saint-Martin-de-Valgalgues, Saint-Privat-des-Vieux, Cendras, Saint-Christol-lès-Alès and Saint-Hilaire-de-Brethmas.  Panorama ales.jpg|The city from the Ermitage hill. ===Climate=== The climate of Alès, in the Köppen climate classification, is Csb - Mediterranean climate with warm summers. ==Population== The inhabitants of Alès are known, in French, as Alésiens (women: Alésiennes). With a population of 39,993, Alès has a population density of inhabitants/km2. Evolution of the population in Alès Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:500 height:373 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:30 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:50000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:10000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:5000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1968 text:1968 bar:1975 text:1975 bar:1982 text:1982 bar:1990 text:1990 bar:1999 text:1999 bar:2006 text:2006 bar:2014 text:2014 PlotData= color:barra width:30 align:left bar:1968 from:0 till: 42818 bar:1975 from:0 till: 44245 bar:1982 from:0 till: 43268 bar:1990 from:0 till: 41037 bar:1999 from:0 till: 39346 bar:2006 from:0 till: 39943 bar:2014 from:0 till: 39993 PlotData= bar:1968 at: 42818 fontsize:S text: 42,818 shift:(-12,5) bar:1975 at: 44245 fontsize:S text: 44,245 shift:(-18,5) bar:1982 at: 43268 fontsize:S text: 43,268 shift:(-18,5) bar:1990 at: 41037 fontsize:S text: 41,037 shift:(-18,5) bar:1999 at: 39346 fontsize:S text: 39,346 shift:(-18,5) bar:2006 at: 39943 fontsize:S text: 39,943 shift:(-18,5) bar:2014 at: 39993 fontsize:S text: 39,993 shift:(-18,5) Alès forms, with other 21 communes, the urban area of Alès with a population of 94,622 inhabitants (2013) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Alès, formed by 52 communes with a population of 114,137 inhabitants and an area of . == Administration == Alès is a subprefecture of the Gard department, the capital of the arrondissement of Le Vigan and the administrative centre  of the cantons * Alès-1, with 32,289 inhabitants (2014). * Alès-2, with 29,141 inhabitants (2014). * Alès-3, with 26,871 inhabitants (2014). It is part of the intercommunality Alès Agglomération. ==Sister cities== Alès is twinned with: * Bílina, Czech Republic. * Kilmarnock, Scotland, UK. * Herstal, Belgium. ==Gallery== File:FR-30-Alès3.JPG|Alès town hall. File:Saint-eloi tamaris.JPG|Saint-Eloi de Tamaris church. File:Temple alès.JPG|Protestant temple. File:Ales Fountain.JPG|The fountain in Le Gardon d'Alès river. ==Related pages== * Arrondissement of Alès * Communes of the Gard department