Meurthe-et-Moselle

Meurthe-et-Moselle is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the Meurthe and Moselle rivers. The prefecture (capital) of Meurthe-et-Moselle is Nancy.
History
Meurthe-et-Moselle was created in 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War from the parts of the former departments of Moselle and Meurthe that were left to France with Nancy as is capital. It was divided in 4 arrondissements: Briey, Luneville, Toul and Nancy.
The current boundary between Meurthe-et-Moselle and Moselle was the border between France and Germany from 1871 to 1919 and again between 1940 and 1944.
On 10 September 1926, the arrondissements of Toul were eliminated but it was made again, in 1943, an arrondissement.
Geography
The Meurthe-et-Moselle department is in the Grand Est region. It is bordered by 4 departments, all in the same region. To the northwest, the department borders Belgium and Luxembourg.
Grand Est region
Moselle department (north and east)
Bas-Rhin (a short distance in the southeast)
Vosges (south)
Meuse (west)
Meurthe-et-Moselle has an area of ; it is from north to south and is wide, forming a panhandle in the north of the department.
Its highest point is in the Roc de Taurupt () between the communes Bionville and Raon-sur-Plaine (Vosges) in the western part of the department; it is high.
The main rivers in the department are the Meurthe and the Moselle; the department is named after this two rivers. Other rivers are the Chiers (tributary of the Meuse) and the Vezouze (a tributary of the Meurthe).
Climate
The area around Nancy, at an altitude of about , is characterized by climates with few extremes of temperature. The Koppen climate classification type for the climate at Troyes is a "Marine West Coast Climate" and of the subtype "Cfb".
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Nancy is . The month with the most precipitation on average is June with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of .
The average temperature for the year in Nancy 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
Meurthe-et-Moselle is managed by the Departmental Council of Meurthe-et-Moselle in Nancy. The department is part of the Grand Est region.
Administrative divisions
There are 4 arrondissements (districts), 23 cantons and 594 communes (municipalities) in Meurthe-et-Moselle.
The following is a list of the 23 cantons of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
Baccarat
Entre Seille et Meurthe
Grand Couronne
Jarny
Jarville-la-Malgrange
Laxou
Longwy
Luneville-1
Luneville-2
Meine au Saintois
Mont-Saint-Martin
Nancy-1
Nancy-2
Nancy-3
Neuves-Maisons
Le Nord-Toulois
Pays de Briey
Pont-a-Mousson
Saint-Max
Toul
Val de Lorraine Sud
Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy
Villerupt
Demographics
The inhabitants of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department are known, in French, as Meurthois or Meurthe-et-Mosellans (women: Meurthoises or Meurthe-et-Mosellanes),
Meurthe-et-Moselle had a population, in 2013, of 731,004, for a population density of inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Nancy, with 417,430 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with more inhabitants.
Evolution of the population in Meurthe-et-Moselle
The 10 communes with more inhabitants in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department are:
Economy
The economy was highly dependent on mining until the 1960s. There are iron, salt, and lime mines. The urban area around Nancy has a very active economy based largely on services, research, and higher education.