Nièvre

Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the former province of Nivernais.

Geography

Nièvre is part of the current region of Burgundy, although historically it was not part of the province of Burgundy, and it is surrounded by the departments of Yonne, Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, Allier, Cher, and Loiret. The département is crossed by the Loire river, the longest river in France.

Demography

Nièvre is a rural department with about 50 inhabitants / km². The main cities are : Nevers, Cosne-sur-Loire, Varennes-Vauzelles, Marzy, Decize, Imphy, Clamecy and La Charité. Only three cities reach 10 000 inhabitants. It indicates the characteristic of the département, which is predominantly rural.

Wines

Nièvre is also well known for its white wine, Pouilly Fumé. The vineyards are scattered around villages including Pouilly-Sur-Loire, which lends its name to the appellation, Tracy sur Loire, Boisgibault, Saint Andelain. The word fumé is French for "smoky", and it's said the name comes from the smoky or flinty quality of these wines. The only grape allowed in the Pouilly-Fumé AC is Sauvignon blanc, which produces wines that are generally crisp, tart, and somewhat grassy.

Politics

In common with most French wine-producing departments, Nièvre is traditionally a left-wing department. The results of the second round of voting in presidential elections reflect this consistently:

In the 2007 presidential election, Ségolène Royal received 52.91% of the department's votes, as against a national per centage of just 46.94%.
In the 1995 presidential election, Lionel Jospin received 57.07% of the department's votes, as against a national per centage of just 47.36%.
In the 1981 presidential election, François Mitterrand received 62.91% of the department's votes, as against a national per centage of 51.76%.

Nièvre's best-known political representative was François Mitterrand who served as a Senator and a Deputy for the department, and as mayor of Chateau-Chinon for 22 years before his election to the presidency in 1981.