The Gers (; or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. The Gers is bordered by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques to the south, Haute-Garonne and Tarn-et-Garonne to the east, Lot-et-Garonne to the north and Landes to the west. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the Gersois and Gersoises in French. In 2023, it had a population of 192,645.

Culture

The culture is largely agricultural, with great emphasis on the local gastronomical specialties such as:

  • Armagnac brandy;
  • Côtes de Gascogne;
  • Floc de Gascogne;
  • Foie gras;
  • Wild mushrooms.

Also, some prominent cultivated crops are maize, colza, sunflowers and grain.

The Gascon language is a dialect of Occitan, but it is not widely spoken. The department is characterised by sleepy bastide villages and rolling hills with the Pyrenees visible to the south. Alexandre Dumas, père created the famous Gersois d'Artagnan, the fourth musketeer of The Three Musketeers. A museum to d'Artagnan is found in the Gersois village of Lupiac.

A horse race at the Auteuil Hippodrome has been named after André Boingnères, a notable local race-horse owner and the successful Mayor of Termes-d'Armagnac between 1951 and 1976.

Politics

Departmental Council of Gers

The President of the Departmental Council of the Gers has been Philippe Dupouy of the Socialist Party since 2022.!!Party

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Gers's 1st constituency

| Jean-René Cazeneuve

| Renaissance

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Gers's 2nd constituency

| David Taupiac

| Socialist Party

|}

Demography

Located in Southwestern France, the Gers is amongst the least densely populated (31 people/km<sup>2</sup> in 2023), least urban, or most rural, areas in all of Western Europe. As of 2023, there are 9 communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants:

{| class=wikitable

! Commune

! Population (2023)

|-

| Auch

| style="text-align: center;" | 22,428

|-

| L'Isle-Jourdain

| style="text-align: center;" | 9,537

|-

| Condom

| style="text-align: center;" | 6,473

|-

| Fleurance

| style="text-align: center;" | 6,247

|-

| Eauze

| style="text-align: center;" | 4,108

|-

| Lectoure

| style="text-align: center;" | 3,670

|-

| Vic-Fezensac

| style="text-align: center;" | 3,577

|-

| Mirande

| style="text-align: center;" | 3,457

|-

| Gimont

| style="text-align: center;" | 3,146

|}

Climate

Annual rainfall varies from more than 900&nbsp;mm in the south-west of the department, to less than 700&nbsp;mm in the North-East (Auch, Condom, Lectoure).

Winters are overall mild, with only occasional freezing temperatures.

Summers are hot and dry. Together with Toulouse, Nîmes, Carpentras, Ajaccio, Marseille,Toulon and Perpignan, Auch is one of the hottest cities in France.

Tourism

According to recent data tourism represents annually:

  • 610,000 tourists,
  • 5,900,000 nights,
  • 22,100 commercial beds,
  • 2,400 tourism-related jobs,
  • Tourists account for an equivalent of 17,100 permanent inhabitants,
  • their estimated expenditure is €141,000,000.

<gallery>

File:Tower of Armagnac, Auch, Gers, France.JPG|Auch

File:Montréal Gers Place de l'hôtel de ville -1.JPG|Montréal, Gers

File:Larressingle - Enceinte fortifiée et tour ouest.jpg|Larressingle

File:Eglise Barran1.JPG|Barran

File:Armagnac-img 0465.jpg|Armagnac

File:Moulard Duck Foie Gras with Pickled Pear.jpg|Moulard duck foie gras with pickled pear

</gallery>

See also

  • Cantons of the Gers department
  • Communes of the Gers department
  • Arrondissements of the Gers department

References

  • Departmental Council website
  • Prefecture website
  • Welcome to the Gers in Gascony Tourisme Gers - Vos vacances en France dans le Gers, coeur du Sud Ouest et de l'Occitanie