Grand Est (; Alsatian: "Grossa Oschta"; Moselle Franconian/; Rhine Franconian: "Groß Oschte"; ; ) is an administrative region in northeastern France. It was made from three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the short-lived name of Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine (ACAL or ALCA) because of territorial reform which had been passed by the French law in 2014. The region sits along three water basins (Seine, Meuse and Rhine), spanning an area of , the 5th largest in France, and includes two mountain ranges (Vosges and Ardennes). It shares borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and Switzerland, and stands partly within the European Megalopolis. The administrative capital and largest city, by far, is Strasbourg. The East of France has a interesting culture, being situated at a between the Latin and Germanic worlds which is shown in the variety of languages spoken there (Alsatian, Champenois, Lorraine Franconian etc.). Most of today's Grand Est region was thought to be "Eastern" as early as the 8th century, when it owned the southern part of the Francian territory of Austrasia. The city of Reims , would later play a ceremonial role in French history as the traditional site of the coronation of the kings of France. The Champagne fairs played an important part in the economy of medieval Europe as well. Alsace and Lorraine did well in the influence of the Holy Roman Empire for most of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The region is home to traditions (the celebration of Saint Nicholas Day, Christmas markets, or traditions involving the Easter hare in Alsace and Lorraine). Alsace-Moselle has to follow local law for historical reasons. With a long industrial history as well and its agriculture and tourism (arts, cuisine, sightseeing etc.), the East of France has one of the largest economic production levels in the country.
"Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine" was the old name for the region.
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Franco-Provençal: "Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes"; ) is an administrative region of France that was created on 1 January 2016 from the former French regions Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. It is in the central and eastern parts of southern France.
Its capital is the city of Lyon.
The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is the third largest region of Metropolitan France, after Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie, with an area of . It borders five French administrative regions: Bourgogne-Franche-Comté to the north, Centre-Val de Loire to the northwest, Nouvelle-Aquitaine to the west, Occitanie to the southwest and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur to the southeast. It also borders two countries: Italy to the east and Switzerland to the northeast.
The region has the Massif Central to the east and the Alps to the east, with the valley of the Rhône river between them. Half of the Ain department is occupied by the Jura Mountains.
The extreme points for the region are in the "communes":
Its capital, Lyon, is at to the southwest of Paris, the national capital, at to the northwest of Marseille and at to the west of Bordeaux.
The distances from the different departmental capitals to Lyon, the regional capital, are:
There are two main drainage basin in the region; some rivers in those basins are:
The Mont Blanc (), at , is the highest mountain of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, France, Italy and of Western Europe.
The highest points in the different departments of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region are:
The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is formed by 13 departments:
"Arr." = Arrondissements          "Cant." = Cantons          "Comm." = Communes
The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region had a population, in 2014, of 7,820,966, for a population density of inhabitants/km. The department with more people living in it is Rhône with 1,801,885 inhabitants.
The main cities in the region are:
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (meaning "Burgundy–Free County") is one of the administrative regions of France. It is in eastern France and was formed in 2016 from two old regions: Bourgogne and Franche-Comté.
Its capital is Besançon.
The Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region is the sixth largest region of France with an area of . It is in northeastern France and borders to the north with the Grand Est region, to the west with Île-de-France and Centre-Val de Loire regions, to the south with the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and to the east with Switzerland (the cantons of Vaud, Neuchâtel and Jura).
The distances from Besançon, the capital of the region, to other cities are:
The main rivers in the region are the Saône and its tributary the Doubs. The Loire river flows through the southwest of the region, at Nevers. The Seine river starts in the Côte-d'Or department.
There are three main mountain ranges in the region:
The Crêt Pela (), at , is the highest mountain of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. It is in the Jura mountain range.
The highest point of the different departments in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region are:
The Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region is formed by 8 departments:
"Arr." = Arrondissements          "Cant." = Cantons          "Comm." = Communes
The Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region had, in 2014, a population of 2,820,623, for a population density of inhabitants/km. The department with more people living in it is Saône-et-Loire with 555,788 inhabitants.
After the Territoire de Belfort, the smallest department in the region, Doubs is the department with highest population density (102 inhabitants/km). The density in the other departments is lower.
Occitanie
Occitanie (, ) is an administrative region of France. It was created on 1 January 2016 from the former French regions Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées.
The name in French, Occitanie, was approved as the new name of the region on 28 September 2016.
The new Occitanie Region is the main part of a wider cultural entity known as Occitania. This wider region once included part of Spain (Aran Valley), and Monaco, and parts of Italy (the Occitan Valleys and Guardia Piemontese). This wider area used to speak Occitan as their first language.
The Occitanie region is the third largest region of France, after Nouvelle-Aquitaine and French Guiana, and the second of Metropolitan France with an area of . It is in southern France (the "Midi") and borders to the south with Spain and Andorra; it also borders three French regions: Nouvelle-Aquitaine to the west, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to the north, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur to the east. The Mediterranean Sea is to the southeast.
Its capital, Toulouse, is at to the southwest of Paris, the national capital, at to the west of Marseille, at to the southeast of Bordeaux and at to the north of Barcelona (Spain).
There are two main drainage basin in the region; some rivers in those basins are:
The Pic Vignemale (), at , is the highest mountain of the Occitanie region; it is on the border with Spain. It is in the Pyrénées National Park.
The highest point of the different departments of the Occitanie region are:
The Occitanie region is formed by 13 departments:
"Arr." = Arrondissements          "Cant." = Cantons          "Comm." = Communes
The Occitanie region had a population, in 2014, of 5,730,753, for a population density of inhabitants/km.
The important cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants (2014) in the region are:
Hauts-de-France
Hauts-de-France is an administrative region of France. It was created in 2016. It was created by combining the former regions of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy.
"Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardy" was the temporary name for the region.
Jamala
Jamala born Susana Dzjamaladinova (born 27 August 1983) is a Ukrainian singer that won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "1944".
On 14 May 2016, Jamala won the competition with 534 points.
Her song, "1944" is about the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944. It is also about her great-grandmother, who lost her daughter while being deported to Central Asia.