MIDI-PYRÉNÉES INFORMATION
MIDI-PYRENEES Topography
The region of Midi-Pyrénées is composed of 8 departements: Ariège, Aveyron, Gers, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, Lot, Tarn and Tarn-et-Garonne. It is located in the south of France with its capital at Toulouse. The Pyrénées are distributed along its southern part, which is adjacent to Spain, and cover much of the departements of Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne and Ariège. Forests abound in the mountains, and considerable agriculture is found elsewhere. The regions of Auvergne and Limousin are to its north. Aquitaine is to the west and Languedoc-Roussillon is to the east.
Midi-Pyrénées (Occitan: Miègjorn-Pirenèus or Mieidia-Pirenèus) is the largest region of metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark.
Midi-Pyrénées has no historical or geographical unity. It is one of the regions of France created artificially in the late 20th century to serve as a hinterland and zone of influence for its capital, Toulouse, one of a handful of so-called "balancing metropolises" (métropoles d'équilibre)¹. Another example of this is the region of Rhône-Alpes which was created as the region for Lyon.
The name chosen for the new region was decided by the French central government without reference to the historical provinces (too many of them inside the region) and based purely on geography: Midi (i.e. "southern regions") - Pyrénées (Pyrénées mountains that are the southern limit of the region). The French adjective and name of the inhabitants of the region is: Midi-Pyrénéen.
MIDI-PYRENEES Climate
Gentle winters and mild summers. In the mountain region there is good skiing during the winter, but on the plains the average temp is 12 C. Spring and fall average temp 20 C and the summer 28 deg C.
MIDI-PYRENEES Demography
Here again, Midi-Pyrénées is a region of sharp contrasts. While the metropolitan area of Toulouse at the center of the region is a highly densely populated area, with densities reaching 3500 inhabitants per km² (9000 inhabitants per sq. miles), the rest of the region is sparsely populated, with densities ranging from 25 to 60 inh. per km² (65 to 155 inh. per sq. miles), which are among the lowest densities in western Europe. Toulouse is often presented as an oasis in the middle of a desert. Driving a mere half-an-hour away from Toulouse, one goes from the hustle and bustle of the busy metropolitan area to the slow pace and timelessness of the hilly countryside of Gascony or Lauragais and their narrow winding roads with seldom any traffic.
MIDI-PYRENEES Geography
24.2% of Midi-Pyrénées is Gascony: western half of Haute-Garonne department, southwest of Tarn-et-Garonne, Gers in its entirety, extreme north of Hautes-Pyrénées. Gascony here includes the province of Comminges, which historically was a Pyrenean province, but later expanded all the way north to Muret in the southern suburbs of Toulouse, then was fragmented, and became an eastern fringe of Gascony. Gascony also extends over the Aquitaine region.
23.4% of Midi-Pyrénées is Languedoc: eastern half of Haute-Garonne, southeast of Tarn-et-Garonne, Tarn in its entirety, northwest and northeast of Ariège. Languedoc includes the sub-province of Albigeois (Tarn department), which is sometimes considered as a province separate from Languedoc. Languedoc also extends over the Languedoc-Roussillon region.
19.9% of Midi-Pyrénées is Rouergue: Aveyron department in its entirety, and extreme east of Tarn-et-Garonne. The province of Rouergue is entirely contained inside Midi-Pyrénées.
15.4% of Midi-Pyrénées is Quercy: department of Lot in its entirety, and northern half of Tarn-et-Garonne. The province of Quercy is entirely contained inside Midi-Pyrénées.
16.6% of Midi-Pyrénées is a collection of small Pyrenean provinces, from east to west: County of Foix (eastern half of Ariège), Couserans (western half of Ariège), Nébouzan (extreme south of Haute-Garonne and extreme east of Hautes-Pyrénées), Quatre-Vallées (i.e. "Four Valleys") (east of Hautes-Pyrénées), and Bigorre (west and center of Hautes-Pyrénées). All these provinces are entirely contained inside Midi-Pyrénées.
0.5% of Midi-Pyrénées is Agenais: extreme west of Tarn-et-Garonne. Agenais extends essentially over the Aquitaine region.
Other regions touched by Midi-Pyrénées are the region of Provence Alpes Côte d'azur, the region of Auvergne, the region of Rhône-Alpes, the region of Limousin and the region of Languedoc-Roussillon.
MIDI-PYRENEES Main cities
Albi, Cahors, Castres, Colomier, Lourdes, Millau, Mautauban, Murez, Rocamadour, Rodez, Tarbes, Toulouse
MIDI-PYRÉNÉES Wine
MIDI-PYRENEES Future of the Region
On the other hand, there are those who stress the past of Toulouse, referring to the former County of Toulouse which extended to the Mediterranean Coast, and who would like to merge Midi-Pyrénées with Languedoc-Roussillon in order to create a large Languedoc region. This indeed would reunify the old province of Languedoc, which was split between Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc-Roussillon, and it would also make sense historically speaking, creating a region roughly corresponding to the old county of Toulouse. There also seems to be less economic competition between Toulouse and the cities of Languedoc-Roussillon. However, political leaders of Montpellier (capital of Languedoc-Roussillon) may disagree with the merger, opposed to losing their status of regional capital in favor of Toulouse, and loath to have Toulouse dominate the Mediterranean coast after it has dominated Midi-Pyrénées for more than 30 years already. Also, people in Roussillon, with their distinct Catalan culture, might object to being incorporated into a very large Languedoc region where their identity could become diluted.
MIDI-PYRENEES HOLIDAY RENTALS in Region of FRANCE
MORE THAN 10.000 B&B in all France
MORE THAN 10.000 Gîtes in all France
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