Department in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France
For other uses, see
Var
.
Department of France in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
Var
(
French:
[va?]
ⓘ
,
Occitan:
[?ba?]
) is a
department
in the
Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
region
in Southeastern
France
. It is bordered on the east by the
Alpes-Maritimes
department; to the west by
Bouches-du-Rhone
; to the north of the river
Verdon
by the
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
department; and to the south by the
Mediterranean Sea
. It had a population of 1,076,711 in 2019.
[3]
The Var department takes its name from the river
Var
, which flowed along its eastern boundary, until the boundary was moved in 1860 and the department is no longer associated with the river.
Toulon
is Var's largest city and administrative capital, known as the
prefecture
. Other important towns in Var include
Frejus
,
Saint-Raphael
,
Draguignan
,
Brignoles
,
Hyeres
and
La Seyne-sur-Mer
. Var is known for the harbour of Toulon, the main port of the
French Navy
, for its seaside resorts, the most famous of which is
Saint-Tropez
, for some fine examples of
Romanesque
and other medieval architecture, such as
Le Thoronet Abbey
and the
Frejus Cathedral
, for its wines, particularly the wines of
Bandol
, as well as for its motorsport race track
Circuit Paul Ricard
, located in
Le Castellet
.
History
[
edit
]
Early years
[
edit
]
The department of Var was created at the time of the
French Revolution
, on 4 March 1790, from a portion of the former royal
province
of
Provence
.
Its capital was originally
Toulon
, but this was moved to
Grasse
in 1793 to punish the Toulonnais for yielding the town to the British in 1793. Subsequently, the capital was moved to
Brignoles
in 1795, then to
Draguignan
in 1797. It was not returned to
Toulon
until 1974.
19th century
[
edit
]
In 1815, following the defeat of
Napoleon
at
Waterloo
the department was occupied by Austrian troops until November 1818. In 1854 the first railroad reached Toulon.
With the creation of the new department of
Alpes-Maritimes
in 1860 and following the annexation by France of Nice, the eastern part of the department, corresponding to the
arrondissement of Grasse
, was moved to the new department. This move also shifted the river Var, which had given the department its name, to the new department.
In 1884 a
cholera
epidemic struck Toulon. The leader of the fight against the epidemic was
Georges Clemenceau
, a doctor and a member of the
National Assembly
for the
Seine
department. He was later elected a member of the
Chamber of Deputies
for the Var department from 1888 to 1893 and
Senator
from 1902 to 1920, during which time he also served as
Prime Minister of France
.
Recent times
[
edit
]
The
First World War
(1914?1918) stimulated growth in shipyards and military industries in the region, but weakened the agricultural and food industries. In 1942 the German Army moved from
Occupied France
into the
zone libre
, which included the Var department. The French Fleet was sabotaged in Toulon Harbour to keep it from falling into German hands. The
Maquis Vallier
, a group of
maquis
resistance
fighters, was active. On 15 August 1944 American and
Free French
forces land at
Saint-Tropez
,
Sainte-Maxime
and
Saint-Raphael
. The Free French fleet arrived at Toulon on 13 September.
In the 1960s about 100,000 French citizens were repatriated from
Algeria
following the
Algerian War of Independence
and settled in the Var department. In
2014
,
Frejus
Mayor
David Rachline
became the first
Senator
from Var elected under the
National Front
(later National Rally) banner; alongside
Stephane Ravier
from neighbouring
Bouches-du-Rhone
, the two became the first National Front members of the Senate under the
Fifth Republic
.
Geography
[
edit
]
The Var department has a surface area of 6,032 km
2
. It had 420 km of coastline, including the offshore islands. 56% of its surface area is covered with forest. Its geological formations are divided into two regions; one composed of
limestone
to the northwest of a line between Toulon and Draguignan and of crystalline rock (
quartz
) to the southeast.
The department is in the foothills of the
French Alps
and largely mountainous. Major mountains include:
- The
Massif des Maures
(771 m) and
Massif de l'Esterel
, along the coast, (618 m) are made of quartz rock.
- The
Sainte-Baume
mountain ridge (1,147 m), in the west.
- Mountain of Lachens (1,715 m), in the northwest of the department, and the highest point in the Var.
The plateau of
Canjuers
(French:
Plan de Canjuers
) in the northeast of Var gradually rises from 500 to 1,000 metres. In the south and west there are several plateaus, such as the plateau of Siou Blanc to the north of Toulon, which rise from 400 to 700 metres in altitude.
Climate
[
edit
]
The department of Var has a
Mediterranean climate
, slightly warmer, drier and sunnier than Nice and the Alpes-Maritimes, but is also less sheltered from the wind. Toulon has an average of 2899.3 hours of sunshine each year.
[4]
The average maximum daily temperature in August is 29.1 °C, and the average daily minimum temperature in January is 5.8 °C.
[4]
The average annual rainfall is 665 mm.
[4]
Winds exceeding 16 m/s (57.6 km/h) blow an average of 116 days per year in Toulon,
[4]
compared with 77 days per year at
Frejus
further east.
[5]
Demographics
[
edit
]
Population development since 1801:
Historical population
Year
| Pop.
| ±% p.a.
|
---|
1801
| 271,703
| ?
|
---|
1821
| 305,096
| +0.58%
|
---|
1831
| 321,686
| +0.53%
|
---|
1841
| 328,010
| +0.19%
|
---|
1851
| 357,967
| +0.88%
|
---|
1861
| 315,526
| ?1.25%
|
---|
1872
| 293,757
| ?0.65%
|
---|
1881
| 288,577
| ?0.20%
|
---|
1891
| 288,336
| ?0.01%
|
---|
1901
| 326,384
| +1.25%
|
---|
1911
| 330,755
| +0.13%
|
---|
1921
| 322,945
| ?0.24%
|
---|
1931
| 377,104
| +1.56%
|
---|
| Year
| Pop.
| ±% p.a.
|
---|
1936
| 398,662
| +1.12%
|
---|
1946
| 370,688
| ?0.72%
|
---|
1954
| 413,012
| +1.36%
|
---|
1962
| 469,557
| +1.62%
|
---|
1968
| 555,926
| +2.85%
|
---|
1975
| 626,093
| +1.71%
|
---|
1982
| 708,331
| +1.78%
|
---|
1990
| 815,714
| +1.78%
|
---|
1999
| 898,441
| +1.08%
|
---|
2006
| 985,099
| +1.32%
|
---|
2011
| 1,012,735
| +0.55%
|
---|
2016
| 1,055,821
| +0.84%
|
---|
2020
| 1,085,189
| +0.69%
|
---|
|
|
Figures before 1861 refer to the old department of Var. Sources:
[6]
[7]
|
Principal towns
[
edit
]
In 2019, the population of Var was 1,076,711, of whom 51% live in the agglomeration (
urban unit
) of
Toulon
, the prefecture and most populous commune.
[8]
As of 2019, there are nine communes with more than 20,000 inhabitants:
[3]
Politics
[
edit
]
In the
2017 French presidential election
,
Marine Le Pen
of the
National Front
won a majority of the vote in Var in the first round, with
Francois Fillon
of
The Republicans
placing second.
Emmanuel Macron
of
En Marche!
won a majority in the second round.
In the
2022 French presidential election
, Le Pen of the National Rally (formerly National Front) won a majority in Var in both rounds.
Departmental Council of Var
[
edit
]
The
Departmental Council of Var
comprises 46 seats. In the
2021 departmental election
, 26 seats were won by
The Republicans
(LR), 13 by
miscellaneous right
candidates, 3 by the
Union of Democrats and Independents
(UDI), 2 by the
National Rally
(RN) and 2 by
miscellaneous centre
candidates. Var currently has no left-wing departmental councillors.
Since 2022,
La Garde
Mayor
Jean-Louis Masson
(LR) has been President of the Departmental Council of Var. His governing majority comprises all councillors except the two elected under the National Rally banner, who form the opposition.
Representation in Paris
[
edit
]
Members of the National Assembly
[
edit
]
In the
2017 legislative election
, Var elected the following representatives to the
National Assembly
:
In the
2022 legislative election
, Var elected the following representatives to the National Assembly:
Members of the Senate
[
edit
]
In the
2020 Senate election
, Jean Bacci, Michel Bonnus, Francoise Dumont and Andre Guiol were elected from Var. All sit with the
Senate Republicans group
, except Guiol who sits with the
European Democratic and Social Rally group
.
Economy
[
edit
]
The principal industry of Var is tourism, thanks largely to the big summer influx of tourists to the South of France and the Mediterranean coast in particular, but also inland to the
Verdon
River Canyon and hilltop villages and vineyards.
Tourism
[
edit
]
Popular tourist attractions in Var include:
- The port and beaches of
Saint-Tropez
;
- The seaside village of
Sainte-Maxime
, with waterfront promenade, shops and restaurants, and a ferry service to Saint-Tropez;
- The beach of
Cavalaire-sur-Mer
, the longest sand beach on the coast;
- Boat tours of the Rade, or harbour, of Toulon, the main anchorage of the French Navy;
- Wind-surfing offshore of the peninsula of
Giens
;
- Le Thoronet Abbey
, one of the best-preserved medieval
Cistercian
monasteries in France;
- The Baptistery of
Frejus Cathedral
, the oldest Christian structure in Provence;
- The hilltop village of
Bormes-les-Mimosas
;
- The
Iles d'Hyeres
, including the
underwater natural park
around the Ile de Port-Cros;
- Hiking in the
Massif de l'Esterel
;
- The hilltop villages of
Gassin
,
Ramatuelle
,
Montauroux
,
Fayence
,
Callian
,
Seillans
,
Tourrettes
,
Saint-Paul-en-Foret
,
Mons
and
Tanneron
in the
Fayence
region;
- The
Verdon Gorge
,
Lake of Sainte-Croix
and hilltop villages of the upper Var;
- The hilltop villages,
wine caves
and vineyards near
Bandol
.
Industry
[
edit
]
The construction industry employs 28,000 workers in the Var of which 4,000 work alone and 4,500 companies employ the remaining 24,000 salaried workers. Industry generates an annual turnover of €2.5 billion. Of this, €500 million is derived from public works.
[10]
Agriculture
[
edit
]
800 km
2
or 13% of the total area is dedicated to agriculture, on which 40,000 people (14% of the Var working population) depend for their livelihoods. The department also has 10 km
2
of horticultural land (of which 4 km
2
are covered). Var is France's largest grower of
cut flowers
, producing some 500 million stems a year. Livestock farming is mainly sheep (50,000) and goats (4,200). Vines and viticultural related activities account for 345 km
2
of farmland. The 450
domaines
or
cooperatives
and the 4 AOCs (
appellation d'origine controlee
) produce 150 million litres of wine a year. Var leads the world in the production of rose wine.
Other important agricultural products include olives (cultivated on 42 km
2
of land?a quarter of all French olive groves?and processed in 40 mills), figs (the Var produces 80% of France's figs), and honey (800 tonnes per year). There are also 9 km
2
of market gardens.
Agricultural turnover in Var is
€
610 million per year, of which 45% is sales of wines and 42% of horticultural products.
[11]
In 2008 the Var department received approximately €15 million in farm subsidies under the EU Common Agriculture Policy, an average of about €6,000 per recipient farm. This compares with an average across France as a whole of over €18,000 per farm.
[12]
Viticulture
[
edit
]
- AOC Coteaux varois en Provence is a recent
appellation d'origine controlee
in Provence. The name Coteaux Varois was first used in 1945, and became an AOC in 1993. the name was changed to Couteaux Varois en Provence in 2005. The red wines principally use the
grenache
,
cinsaut
,
mourvedre
and
syrah
grapes. White wines use the
clairette
,
grenache blanc
, rolle blanc, Semillon Blanc, and Ugni Blanc. There are 22 km
2
in this AOL. It produces 80% roses, 17% red wines, and 3% white wines.
- Bandol AOC
, is grown on the coast west of Toulon, mostly around the villages of
La Cadiere-d'Azur
and
Castellet
. Wines of this appellation must have at least 50%
Mourvedre
grapes, though most have considerably more.
[
citation needed
]
Other grapes used are
Grenache
,
Cinsault
Syrah
and
Carignan
.
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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