Haute-Saône (; Frainc-Comtou: ; English: Upper Saône) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of northeastern France. Named after the river Saône, it had a population of 233,185 in 2023.

: * Agriculture 4,919 employees

: * Construction 4,504 employees

: * Industrial sector 18,747 employees

: * Service sector 44,865 employees

Demographics

In common with many rural departments in France, Haute-Saône has experienced a savage reduction in population, from nearly 350,000 in the middle of the nineteenth century to barely 200,000 on the eve of the Second World War, as people migrated to newly industrialising population centres, often outside Metropolitan France.

During the second half of the twentieth century the mass mobility conferred by the surge in automobile ownership permitted some recovery of the population figure to approximately 234,000 in 2004.

Principal towns

The rural nature of the department is highlighted by the absence of large towns and cities. Even the department's capital, Vesoul, still has a population below 20,000. As of 2023, there are 5 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:

{| class=wikitable

! Commune

! Population (2023)

|-

| Vesoul

| style="text-align: center;" | 15,078

|-

| Héricourt

| style="text-align: center;" | 10,621

|-

| Lure

| style="text-align: center;" | 7,877

|-

| Luxeuil-les-Bains

| style="text-align: center;" | 6,663

|-

| Gray

| style="text-align: center;" | 5,365

|}

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Yves Krattinger, first elected in 2001.

Current National Assembly Representatives

{| class="wikitable"

|-

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

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Haute-Saône's 1st constituency

| Antoine Villedieu

| National Rally

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Haute-Saône's 2nd constituency

| Emeric Salmon

| National Rally

|}

Tourism

<gallery mode="packed">

File:RonchampCorbu.jpg|Notre-Dame du Haut by Le Corbusier (UNESCO)

File:Oricourt haute-cour.jpg|Château d'Oricourt

File:Pesmes, le château vu depuis l'île de la sauvageonne.jpg|Pesmes

File:Planche des Belles Filles 07.JPG|La Planche des Belles Filles (Tour de France)

File:2020-05 - Étangs de Servance - 01.jpg|Landscape of Plateau des Mille Étangs

</gallery>

See also

  • County of Burgundy - History
  • Franche-Comté
  • Cantons of the Haute-Saône department
  • Communes of the Haute-Saône department
  • Arrondissements of the Haute-Saône department
  • Arpitan language

References

  • Prefecture website
  • Departmental Council website
  • Tourism website