Haute-Savoie () is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva; to the south and southeast are Mont Blanc and the Aravis mountain range.

It holds its name from the Savoy historical region, as does the department of Savoie, located south of Haute-Savoie. In 2023, it had a population of 861,158.!!Party

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| Haute-Savoie's 1st constituency

| Véronique Riotton

| Renaissance

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| Haute-Savoie's 2nd constituency

| Antoine Armand

| Renaissance

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| Haute-Savoie's 3rd constituency

| Antoine Valentin

| Union of the Right for the Republic

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| Haute-Savoie's 4th constituency

| Virginie Duby-Muller

| The Republicans

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| Haute-Savoie's 5th constituency

| Anne-Cécile Violland

| Horizons

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| Haute-Savoie's 6th constituency

| Xavier Roseren

| Renaissance

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Senate

Haute-Savoie sends three Senators to Parliament. Loïc Hervé and Cyril Pellevat were both elected in 2014; Sylviane Noël took office in 2018.

Geography

thumb|right|300px|Haute-Savoie highlighted in brown in the former Rhône-Alpes region, with arrondissements outlined|alt=Gray map of former [[Rhône-Alpes region, with Haute-Savoie in brown]]

alt=Aerial view showing farmland, woodland, residential areas, and the A40 motorway in Haute-Savoie.|thumb|305x305px|Aerial landscape of Haute-Savoie near the A40 motorway

Haute-Savoie comprises four arrondissements, divided into 279 communes and 17 cantons. To the north, it borders the Swiss canton of Geneva and Lake Geneva; to the east the Swiss canton of Valais and Italy's Aosta Valley; to the west the French department of Ain; and to the south the department of Savoie.

Haute-Savoie has the largest range of elevations of all the departments in France; the lowest point is in the Rhône Valley, and the highest Mont Blanc at . Some of the world's best-known ski resorts are in Haute-Savoie.

The terrain of the department includes the Alpine Mont Blanc range; the French Prealps of the Aravis Range, the Chablais, Bornes and Bauges Alps; and the peneplains of Genevois haut-savoyard and Albanais (known collectively as L'Avant-pays savoyard). Of the of land not managed for timber, Haute-Savoie has nine national nature reserves totaling .

  • Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve –
  • Bout du Lac d'Annecy National Nature Reserve –
  • Carlaveyron National Nature Reserve –
  • Contamines-Montjoie National Nature Reserve –
  • Delta de la Dranse National Nature Reserve –
  • Passy National Nature Reserve –
  • Roc de Chère National Nature Reserve –
  • Sixt-Passy National Nature Reserve –
  • Vallon de Bérard National Nature Reserve –

Lakes

thumb|Aerial view of Lake Annecy from the southeast|alt=Aerial view of narrow lake between mountains

Haute-Savoie has significant freshwater resources. Lake Annecy is a major attraction, along with the town of Évian-les-Bains, perhaps the best-known town on the French shore of Lake Geneva, and known worldwide for its Evian mineral water. Haute-Savoie is entirely within the watershed of the Rhone.

Demographics

Population development since 1861:

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Annecy, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 7 communes with more than 15,000 inhabitants:

{| class=wikitable

! Commune

! Population (2023)

|-

| Annecy

| style="text-align: center;" | 132,117

|-

| Thonon-les-Bains

| style="text-align: center;" | 37,928

|-

| Annemasse

| style="text-align: center;" | 37,628

|-

| Cluses

| style="text-align: center;" | 17,795

|-

| Sallanches

| style="text-align: center;" | 17,319

|-

| Rumilly

| style="text-align: center;" | 16,442

|-

| Saint-Julien-en-Genevois

| style="text-align: center;" | 16,222

|}

Education and research

The research sector in Haute-Savoie filed 201 patents in 2000. It is represented by:

  • Laboratory for Particle Physics in Annecy-le-Vieux
  • Technology Center Engineering Industries (CETIM)
  • Research laboratories related to Polytech Savoie, ESIA and Savoy University
  • Technical center for screw-machining industry (CTDEC) in Cluses
  • The Thésame - mechatronics and management

Economy

Agriculture

In 2006 approximately of land was suitable for agriculture, of which (24 percent) was arable land suitable for market gardening, cultivation or pasture; was orchards; was vineyards, and was alpine tundra or grasses.

There were 4,450 farmers in 1999, 4,800 farmers and over 1,700 full-time farm employees at the end of 2006. In 1999, crop production was valued at €71.5 million and animal production at €165.4 million.

thumb|right|Reblochon cheese|alt=Half-circle of soft tan cheese, cut side forward, on white table

Dairy production is a large part of the Haute-Savoie economy, earning €117.2 million in 2006 and representing 74 percent of the net animal-product worth. Cattle earned €29.7 million.

Arve Industries is part of 67 "competitiveness clusters" created in 2005.

The cluster is dedicated to mechatronics and includes 60,000 industrial jobs in over 280 companies (primarily small), 1,200 researchers and 250 patents in 2002.

Among the projects supported by the cluster is inertial tolerancing, a new approach in evaluating the quality of machined parts. Based on the Taguchi loss function, inertia is defined by its deviation from its target. Inertial tolerancing is a research-and-development program supported by the cluster for its member companies. It is led by a research team from the Symme Laboratory of the University of Savoie and the CTDEC (Centre Technique du Decolletage). The publication of the French standard NFX 04-008 demonstrates the relevance of topics covered by the cluster.

Other programs involve the production of clean parts (4P project), developing new models of customer-supplier relationships to improve the effectiveness of simultaneous engineering tasks, and development of the international visibility of the cluster and its members.

The companies concerned are involved with industrial mechanics, precision engineering, precision turning and sub-assemblies and mechanical assemblies, often associated with integrating technologies such as plastics, electronics and hydraulics.

Markets served by member companies of the cluster include transport (cars, trucks, rail and air), production and distribution of electricity, hydraulics (gas or liquid, high-pressure vacuum), medical and health-related.

Services

In late December 2000, the service sector employed 75,768 people in 11,129 companies in:

  • Hotels and restaurants – 26.5 percent
  • Real estate activities – 24.6 percent
  • Consulting and assistance – 14.0 percent
  • Transportation – 6.1 percent
  • Financial activities – 6.2 percent

Tourism

As of late December 2000, the tourism sector had a total of 635,000 beds divided as follows:

  • 1,250 – Rural lodgings
  • 803 – Hotels
  • 453 – Guest rooms
  • 191 – Campsites
  • 70 – Bed-and-breakfasts
  • 40 – Mountain huts

In 1999 there were 37.9 million overnight stays: 56 percent in winter and 44 percent during the rest of the year.

<gallery>

File:YvoireWiki 09.jpg|Yvoire and Lake Geneva

File:Cluses.JPG|Arve Valley and the town of Cluses

File:Fr-duingt-chateau-Ruphy-2-ulrichprinz.jpg|Chateau de Ruphy in Duingt

File:Seyssel rive Haute-Savoie.JPG|Seyssel

File:200505-Lac de Montriond 03.JPG|Montriond Lake

File:Aiguille-du-Midi-summer.jpg|Aiguille du Midi

</gallery>

Cross-border workers

Many people who live in Haute-Savoie (more than 52,200 in November 2006) work in Switzerland (in the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Valais). The phenomenon has accelerated since bilateral agreements concluded between Switzerland and the European Union, of which a significant part concerned free movement of people. In 2007, commuting increased over 12%.<!--from when?-->

Effective June 1, 2007, residents of Haute-Savoie may freely work in Switzerland. The department and municipalities receive compensation ("frontier funds") allocated to municipalities in proportion to the number of border residents there. Following an agreement signed in Geneva in 1973, the Canton of Geneva transferred to Haute-Savoie 3.5 percent of total worker compensation, equivalent in December 2006 to €77.687&nbsp;million.

Export

Exports are an important part of the economy; forty percent of Haute-Savoie employees work for exporting firms. Exports are primarily to Germany, the United States, Switzerland, Italy and the United Kingdom. Imports come mainly from Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the United States.

Taxation

Haute-Savoie has property and income taxes. In 2006, 312,823 households were subject to property taxes and 27,747 were exempt.

The average income tax per household was €25,621 in 2007 (compared with the national average of €21,930).

Transport

Haute Savoie is served by the A41 and A43 highways. Annecy is accessible from Lyon, with an estimated travel time between two and three hours in normal traffic. Since it is closer to Geneva, the new highway connects the two cities in about an hour.

The region has only one main airport, Chambéry Airport. However, the airport only provides direct routes to the United Kingdom. Residents in the region normally uses Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport and Geneva Airport as both provide more domestic and international destinations.

Saint-Gervais is the only railroad station directly serving a ski resort. The main rail line serves Annecy-Annemasse-Geneva. The Annecy railway station has TGV (high speed trains) departures and arrivals to and from Paris via the high-speed line from Lyon Part-Dieu. Intercity Public transport is run by Lihsa.

Sources

  • Assedic (January 2000)
  • Construction 74 (January 2000)
  • ERC / DDAF 1999
  • Chamber of Agriculture
  • Chamber of Trade (December 2000)
  • Customs
  • SIRENE of INSEE (July 2003)
  • CTDEC
  • Chamber of Commerce
  • Thésame

See also

Language

  • Arpitan language

Places

  • Lake Annecy - The third largest lake in France.
  • Lake Geneva - Lake which joins Upper Savoy and Switzerland.

Notes

References

  • Departmental Council website
  • Prefecture website
  • Haute-Savoie Chamber of Commerce and Industry
  • Employment statistics access to regional statistics (Department of Labor Region Rhone-Alpes)