Charente (; Saintongese: Chérente; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the river beside which the department's two largest towns, Angoulême and Cognac, are sited. In 2023, it had a population of 352,683. During the second half of the nineteenth century Charente, like many of France's rural departments, experienced a decline in population as the economic prospects available in the cities and in France's overseas empire attracted working-aged people. Economic ruin came to many in the Charentais wine industry with the arrival in 1872 of phylloxera.

During the twentieth century, the department with its traditional industries was adversely impacted by two major world wars, and in the second half of the century, it experienced relatively low growth. The overall population remaining remarkably stable at around 340,000 throughout the second half of the twentieth century, although industrial and commercial developments in the conurbation surrounding Angoulême have added some 10,000 to the overall population during the first decade of the twenty-first century.

The relatively relaxed pace of economic development in the twentieth century encouraged the immigration of retirees from overseas. Census data in 2006 revealed that the number of British citizens residing in the department had risen to 5,083, placing the department fourth in this respect behind Paris, Dordogne and Alpes-Maritimes.

Geography

It is largely part of the Aquitaine Basin, with the northeastern part in the Massif Central. The Charente flows through it and gave its name to the department, along with Charente-Maritime. It is composed with the historical region of Angoumois and contains part of the regions of Saintonge, Limousin, Périgord and Poitou.

The department is part of the current region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is surrounded by the departments of Charente-Maritime, Dordogne, Haute-Vienne, Vienne and Deux-Sèvres. The southernmost “major” town (town with over 1,000 people) in the Charente is Chalais.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Angoulême, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are nine communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:

{| class=wikitable

! Commune

! Population (2023)

|-

| Angoulême

| style="text-align: center;" | 41,908

|-

| Cognac

| style="text-align: center;" | 18,532

|-

| Soyaux

| style="text-align: center;" | 10,087

|-

| La Couronne

| style="text-align: center;" | 7,765

|-

| Saint-Yrieix-sur-Charente

| style="text-align: center;" | 7,539

|-

| Ruelle-sur-Touvre

| style="text-align: center;" | 7,408

|-

| Gond-Pontouvre

| style="text-align: center;" | 5,862

|-

| L'Isle-d'Espagnac

| style="text-align: center;" | 5,682

|-

| Champniers

| style="text-align: center;" | 5,281

|}

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called Charentais or in feminine, Charentaise.

Population development since 1791:

Politics

The President of the Departmental Council is Philippe Bouty of the Miscellaneous left (DVG), elected in July 2021.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"

!colspan=2| Party || seats

|-

! style="background-color: " |<span style="color:white; font-size:190%;">•</span>

|Socialist Party ||align="right"| 15

|-

! style="background-color: " |

|Union for a Popular Movement ||align="right"| 6

|-

! style="background-color: " |

|Miscellaneous Right ||align="right"| 6

|-

! style="background-color: " |<span style="color:white; font-size:190%;">•</span>

|Miscellaneous Left ||align="right"| 6

|-

! style="background-color: " |<span style="color:white; font-size:190%;">•</span>

|French Communist Party ||align="right"| 2

|-

|}

National Assembly representatives

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!colspan="2"|Constituency!!Member!!Party

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Charente's 1st constituency

| René Pilato

| La France Insoumise

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Charente's 2nd constituency

| Sandra Marsaud

| Renaissance

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Charente's 3rd constituency

| Caroline Colombier

| National Rally

|}

Economy

Cognac and pineau are two of the major agricultural products of the region, along with butter. The Charentaise slipper (a type of slipper made from felt and wool) is another well-known traditional product.

Tourism

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px" style="text-align:left">

File:Angouleme cathedral StPierre ac.JPG|Angoulême Cathedral

File:Vigny Maine-Giraud 2011a.jpg|Champagne-Vigny

File:Verteuil 16 Charente aux Cordeliers.jpg|Verteuil-sur-Charente

File:La Couronne Abbaye2010.jpg|Abbey of La Couronne

File:Plassac-Rouffiac église 2012.jpg|Plassac-Rouffiac

File:Aubeterre 16 Église façade 2013.jpg|Aubeterre-sur-Dronne

File: DeviatLaFaye2.JPG|Château de la Faye

</gallery>

See also

  • Arrondissements of the Charente department
  • Cantons of the Charente department
  • Communes of the Charente department
  • Kaolin deposits of the Charentes Basin
  • Megalithic sites of Charente

Sources

  • Prefecture website
  • Departmental Council website