Alès

**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.

With a population of 39,993, Alès has a population density of  inhabitants/km2.

**Evolution of the population in Alès**

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 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

## References
## Other websites
* 
* Official website