| Eure-et-Loir | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Department — | |||
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| Location of Eure-et-Loir in France | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | France | ||
| Region | Centre | ||
| Prefecture | Chartres | ||
| Subprefectures | Châteaudun Dreux Nogent-le-Rotrou |
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| Government | |||
| • President of the General Council | Albéric de Montgolfier (UMP) | ||
| Area1 | |||
| • Total | 5,880 km2 (2,270.3 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2008) | |||
| • Total | 423,559 | ||
| • Rank | 56th | ||
| • Density | 72/km2 (186.6/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Department number | 28 | ||
| Arrondissements | 4 | ||
| Cantons | 29 | ||
| Communes | 403 | ||
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | |||
Eure-et-Loir (French pronunciation: [œ.r‿e.lwaʁ]) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers.
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Eure-et-Loir is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790 pursuant to the Act of December 22, 1789. It was created from parts of provinces of Orléanais (Beauce), Maine (Perche), but also Île-de-France (Drouais, Thimerais, Valley Avre Hurepoix).
The current department corresponds to the central part of the land of the Carnutes who had their capital at Autricum (Chartres). The Carnutes are known for their commitment, real or imagined, to the ancient Druidic religion. A holy place in the "Forest of the Carnutes" used to host the annual Druidic assembly. In the north of the department another pre-Roman people, the little-known Durocasses, had their capital at Dreux.
Eure-et-Loir comprises the main part of the region of Beauce, politically it belongs to the current region of Centre (Val de Loire) and is surrounded by the departments of Loir-et-Cher, Loiret, Essonne, Yvelines, Eure, Orne, and Sarthe.
The inhabitants of the department are called Euréliens.
The Eure-et-Loir is a department of agricultural tradition (Beauce), but also at the forefront in three economic sectors :
The department is a major economic player in the production of grain and oilseed in France. [1] Its agricultural economy is still heavily dependent on economic and regulatory environment of the markets for crops. The Eure-et-Loir is the first French grain. He is also the national leader in the production of rapeseed and peas. Wheat production is by far the iconic department. Thus, nearly 40% of farmland in the department are devoted to the cultivation of wheat, which generated an average of 29% of commercial agricultural production department during the past 5 years. The Agriculture Department is also promoted by the Cluster AgroDynamic, a reclamation of agricultural resources department set up in different sectors: agro-energy, agribusiness, agricultural materials, Agrohealth.
The department also has the lead in renewable energy. Already ranked second nationally in terms of power generation through its wind farms located in particular in the Beauce region of Eure-et-Loir in 2012 will be the largest producer of electricity with photovoltaic French original creation on the airbase NATO disused Crucey-Villages near Brezolles in the region's natural Thymerais, the largest photovoltaic park in France. Given in February 2011 by the General Council to the operator, EDF Energies Nouvelles, the park will cover 245 ha of the military base and produce the equivalent output of 160 wind turbines.
The President of the General Council is Albéric de Montgolfier of the Union for a Popular Movement.
| Party | seats | |
|---|---|---|
| • | Union for a Popular Movement | 10 |
| Socialist Party | 8 | |
| Miscellaneous Left | 1 | |
| • | Miscellaneous Right | 7 |
| • | New Centre | 2 |
| Left Radical Party | 1 | |
| • | MoDem | 1 |
The media in Eure-et-Loir include the following: