Deux-Sèvres

**Deux-Sèvres** is a department in western France, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.

_Deux-Sèvres_ means literally "Two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise; these are two rivers which flow through the department.

## History

Deux-Sèvres is one of the 83 French departments made during the French revolution, on 4 March 1790.

The new department had six districts: Melle, Niort, Saint-Maixent, Parthenay, Thouars and Châtillon (today Mauléon). The capital (now prefecture) was Niort alternating Saint-Maixent and Parthenay but soon only Niort was the only capital.

In 1800, with the creation of the _arrondissements_ in France, the six districts were changed into four _arrondissements_: Melle, Niort, Parthenay and Thouars. Thouars was changed by Bressuire in 1804.

On 10 September 1926, the _arrondissements_ of Bressuire and Melle were eliminated. On 1 June 1942, Bressuire was again an _arrondissement_.

The borders of the department were changed in 1973 when the inhabitants of the little commune of _Puy-Saint-Bonnet_ joined the commune of Cholet in the neighbouring department of Maine-et-Loire.

## Geography

Deux-Sèvres is part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It has an area of .

The highest point of the department is _Terrier de Saint-Martin_,  high, in the _commune_ of Saint-Martin-du-Fouilloux.

The department is bordered by the departments: Maine-et-Loire, Vienne, Charente, Charente-Maritime and Vendée.

The main rivers in the department are:
- Sèvre Niortaise, that flows through the southern part of the department and ends in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Sèvre Nantaise, that flows through the northern part of the department and is tributary of the Loire river.
- Thouet, that is also a tributary of the Loire.

### Climate

The climate of Niort is an oceanic climate with template summers, **Cfb** (Marine West Coast Climate) in the Köppen climate classification.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Niort is . The month with the most precipitation on average is September with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is July with an average of .

The average temperature for the year in Niort is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of .

## Administration

The department is managed by the _Departamental Council of the Deux-Sèvres_ in Niort. Deux-Sèvres is part of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

### Administrative divisions

There are 3 _arrondissements_ (districts), 17 _cantons_ and 293 _communes_ (municipalities) in Deux-Sèvres.

|INSEE code !!Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population (2014) !! width=70px |Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|791|Bressuire|Bressuire|96,703|1,622.6||53|
|792|Niort|Niort|212,425|2,791.6||163|
|793|Parthenay|Parthenay|64,425|1,585.1||77|

The following is a list of the 17 cantons of the Deux-Sèvres department, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. Autize-Egray <small>(7901)</small>
1. Bressuire <small>(7902)</small>
1. Celles-sur-Belle <small>(7903)</small>
1. Cerizay <small>(7904)</small>
1. Frontenay-Rohan-Rohan <small>(7905)</small>
1. La Gâtine <small>(7906)</small>
1. Mauléon <small>(7907)</small>
1. Melle <small>(7908)</small>
1. Mignon-et-Boutonne <small>(7909)</small>
1. Niort-1 <small>(7910)</small>
1. Niort-2 <small>(7911)</small>
1. Niort-3 <small>(7912)</small>
1. Parthenay <small>(7913)</small>
1. La Plaine Niortaise <small>(7914)</small>
1. Saint-Maixent-l'École <small>(7915)</small>
1. Thouars <small>(7916)</small>
1. Le Val de Thouet <small>(7917)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of Deux-Sèvres are known, in French, as _Deux-Sévriens_ (women: _Deux-Sévriennes_).

Deux-Sèvres has a population, in 2014, of 373,553, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Niort, with 212,425 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The other two, Bressuire and Parthenay, have respectively 96,703 and 64,425 inhabitants.

**Evolution of the population in Deux-Sèvres**

The 10 main cities in the department are:

|City|Population (2014)|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Niort|58,311|Niort|
|Bressuire|19,300|Bressuire|
|Parthenay|10,367|Parthenay|
|Thouars|9,241|Bressuire|
|Mauléon|8,463|Bressuire|
|Chauray|6,828|Niort|
|Saint-Maixent-l’École|6,537|Niort|
|Nueil-les-Aubiers|5,628|Bressuire|
|Aiffres|5,486|Niort|
|La Crèche|5,471|Niort|

## Economy

The department is still a very rural area, with a large proportion of the land of the department used for farming. Wheat and oats are the main products grown, as well as potatoes, apples, and walnuts. There are many vineyards in the north.

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Deux-Sèvres department
- Communes of the Deux-Sèvres department

## Other websites

- Departamental Council website
- Prefecture website

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Deux-Sèvres
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: Panorama Niort.jpg
- **image alt**: Niort from the Sèvre Nantaise river
- **image caption**: Niort from the Sèvre Nantaise river
- **image flag**: Drapeau fr département Deux-Sèvres.svg
- **flag size**: 125px
- **image shield**: Blason département fr Deux-Sèvres.svg
- **shield size**: 80px
- **shield alt**: Coat of arms
- **image map**: Deux-Sèvres-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Deux-Sèvres in France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Niort
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Bressuire
- **p2**: Parthenay
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Gilbert Favreau
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 5999.4
- **population total**: 373553
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Deux-Sévriens
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 3
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 17
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 297
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-79
- **website**: [http://www.deux-sevres.com/ http://www.deux-sevres.com]