Languedoc-Roussillon

¹ French Land Register data, which exclude lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers

Languedoc-Roussillon (Occitan: Lengadòc-Rosselhon; Catalan: Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is one of the 26 regions of France. It comprises five departments, and borders Spain, Andorra and the Mediterranean sea.

1 Geography
2 Politics
3 Wine
4 See also
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Geography

The region is made up of the following historical provinces:

68.7% of Languedoc-Roussillon is the province of Languedoc: departments of Hérault, Gard, Aude, extreme south and extreme east of Lozère, and extreme north of Pyrénées-Orientales. The former province of Languedoc also extends over the Midi-Pyrénées region, including the old capital of Languedoc Toulouse.

17.9% of Languedoc-Roussillon is the province of Gévaudan: Lozère department. A small part of Gévaudan is also inside the Auvergne region. Gévaudan is often considered to be a sub-province inside the province of Languedoc, in which case Languedoc accounts for 86.6% of Languedoc-Roussillon.

13.4% of Languedoc-Roussillon is a collection of five culturally Catalan pays: Roussillon, Vallespir, Conflent, Capcir, and Cerdagne, all of which located from east to west inside the Pyrénées-Orientales département.
All of these pays (in Catalonia, on the other side of the border, a pays is known as a comarca) were part of the Ancient Regime province of Roussillon, owning its name to the largest and most populous of the five pays, Roussillon. "Province of Roussillon and adjacent lands of Cerdagne" was indeed the name that was officially used after the area became French in 1659, based on the historical division of the five pays between the county of Roussillon (Roussillon and Vallespir) and the county of Cerdagne (Cerdagne, Capcir, and Conflent).
Catalan nationalists prefer to use the name "Northern Catalonia" (Catalan: Catalunya Nord). This name has no official recognition in France, but is regularly used in many media of the "Catalan Countries". An alternative name is "French Catalonia" (Catalan: Catalunya francesa).
Finally, it should be noted that Roussillon, Vallespir, Conflent, and Capcir lie entirely inside the Languedoc-Roussillon région, but that only the northern half of Cerdagne is inside the région. The southern half of Cerdagne is on Spanish territory, since the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659 divided Cerdanya between France and Spain. People in Catalonia refer to the French part of Cerdagne as "High Cerdanya" (Alta Cerdanya), but this name has no recognition in France.

[edit] Politics

Regional Council in Montpellier, designed by Spanish Ricardo Bofill

Former flag of Languedoc-Roussillon.

At the regional elections in March 2004, the fiery and domineering socialist mayor of Montpellier Georges Frêche, a maverick in French politics, conquered the region, defeating its center-right president. Since then, Georges Frêche has embarked on a complete overhaul of the region and its institutions. The flag of the region, which displayed the cross of Languedoc as well as the Flag of Roussillon (the "Senyera"), was changed for a new nondescript flag with no reference to the old provinces, except in terms of the colors (red and yellow), which are the colors of both Languedoc and all the territories from the former Crown of Aragon.

In the same spirit, Georges Frêche also wanted to change the name of the region, wishing to erase its duality (Languedoc vs. Roussillon) and strengthen its unity. Thus, he wanted to rename the region "Septimanie" (English: Septimania). Septimania was the name created by the Romans at the end of the Roman Empire for the coastal area corresponding quite well to present day Languedoc-Roussillon (including Roussillon, but not including Gévaudan), and used in the early Middle Ages for the area. The name would have transcended the difference between the Occitan and Catalan speaking areas of Languedoc-Roussillon, and shown a unity that goes back before Languedoc or Principality of Catalonia appeared. This name, however, has not been in use since the 9th century, and it sounded quite odd to French people. A strong opposition of the population led to Georges Frêche giving up on his idea, and cutting almost all use of the name. He declared that he still believed in it but could not go ahead without a mandate.

Actually, Catalan nationalism in Roussillon would like the Pyrénées-Orientales department to secede from Languedoc-Roussillon and become a region in its own right, which they wish to name "Catalunya Nord" (i.e. Northern Catalonia), but it is quite probable that the French government will oppose.

On the other hand, in the current debate over the reform of French political divisions, which focuses on the fact that there exist too many small regions in France, there are some who would like to merge the Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées regions, thus reunifying the old province of Languedoc, and creating a large region able to compete at the European level. It seems probable that Georges Frêche, with his idea of a "Septimanie" region, would not support such plans, although political leaders in Béziers, Narbonne, and especially Nîmes, would probably support such a merger, hostile as they are to Montpellier, which was chosen as the capital of Languedoc-Roussillon instead of their own city, and which they accuse of hegemony.

[edit] Wine

The Languedoc-Roussillon region is dominated by 740,300 acres of vineyards, three times the comibned area of the vineyards in Bordeaux. The Mediterranean climate and plentiful land with soil ranging from rocky sand to thick clay was very suitable for the production of wine, and it is estimated that one in ten bottles of the world's wine was produced in this region during the 20th century (Robinson 1999:395). Despite this enormous quantity, the area's significance was often overlooked by scholarly publications and commercial journals, largely due to the fact that very little of the wine being produced was classified under an appellation contrôlée until the 1980s (Joseph 2005:190).

Several entrepreneurs like Robert Skalli and James Herrick drastically changed the face of the region, planting more commercially viable grape varieties and pushing for new AOC classifications. While the AOC system has origins in the 15th Century, the Languedoc-Rousillon has some appelations like the Cabardes which have only existed by law since 1999 (Joseph 2005:190).