Deux-Sèvres

Deux-Sevres is a department in western France, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.
Deux-Sevres means literally "Two Sevres": the Sevre Nantaise and the Sevre Niortaise; these are two rivers which flow through the department.
History
Deux-Sevres 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 Chatillon (today Mauleon). 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-Sevres 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 Vendee.
The main rivers in the department are:
Sevre Niortaise, that flows through the southern part of the department and ends in the Atlantic Ocean.
Sevre 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 Koppen 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-Sevres in Niort. Deux-Sevres is part of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Administrative divisions
There are 3 arrondissements (districts), 17 cantons and 293 communes (municipalities) in Deux-Sevres.
The following is a list of the 17 cantons of the Deux-Sevres department, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
Autize-Egray (7901)
Bressuire (7902)
Celles-sur-Belle (7903)
Cerizay (7904)
Frontenay-Rohan-Rohan (7905)
La Gatine (7906)
Mauleon (7907)
Melle (7908)
Mignon-et-Boutonne (7909)
Niort-1 (7910)
Niort-2 (7911)
Niort-3 (7912)
Parthenay (7913)
La Plaine Niortaise (7914)
Saint-Maixent-l'Ecole (7915)
Thouars (7916)
Le Val de Thouet (7917)
Demographics
The inhabitants of Deux-Sevres are known, in French, as Deux-Sevriens (women: Deux-Sevriennes).
Deux-Sevres has a population, in 2014, of 373,553, for a population density of inhabitants/km2. 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-Sevres
The 10 main cities in the department are:
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.