Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2023, it had a population of 619,362. Its prefecture, Tours, was a centre of learning in the Early Middle Ages, having been a key focus of Christian evangelisation since St Martin became its first bishop around 375. From the mid-15th century, the royal court repaired to the Loire Valley, with Tours as its capital; the confluence of the Loire River and Cher River became a centre of silk manufacturing and other luxury goods, including the wine trade, creating a prosperous bourgeoisie.
Recent years
After the creation of the department it remained politically conservative, as Honoré de Balzac recorded in several of his novels. Conservative Tours refused to welcome the railways which instead were obliged to route their lines by way of Saint-Pierre-des-Corps on the city's eastern edge. The moderate temper of the department's politics remained apparent after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870: sentiments remained predominantly pro-royalist during the early years of the Third Republic. For most of the nineteenth century, Indre-et-Loire was a rural department, but pockets of heavy-duty industrialisation began to appear towards the century's end, accompanied by left-wing politics. 1920 saw the birth of the French Communist Party at the Congress of Tours. By 1920, Saint-Pierre-des-Corps had become a major railway hub and a centre of railway workshops: it had also acquired a reputation as a bastion of working class solidarity.
Geography
Indre-et-Loire is part of the region of Centre-Val de Loire; the neighbouring departments are Loir-et-Cher, Indre, Vienne, Maine-et-Loire and Sarthe.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Tours, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 10 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:
{| class=wikitable
! Commune
! Population (2023)
|-
| Tours
| style="text-align: center;" | 139,259
|-
| Joué-lès-Tours
| style="text-align: center;" | 38,423
|-
| Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire
| style="text-align: center;" | 17,029
|-
| Saint-Pierre-des-Corps
| style="text-align: center;" | 15,898
|-
| Saint-Avertin
| style="text-align: center;" | 14,999
|-
| Amboise
| style="text-align: center;" | 12,937
|-
| Chambray-lès-Tours
| style="text-align: center;" | 12,720
|-
| Montlouis-sur-Loire
| style="text-align: center;" | 11,335
|-
| Fondettes
| style="text-align: center;" | 10,954
|-
| La Riche
| style="text-align: center;" | 10,487
|}
Demographics
Politics
The President of the Departmental Council is Jean-Gérard Paumier of The Republicans.
{| 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"| 18
|-
! style="background-color: " |
|Miscellaneous Right ||align="right"| 8
|-
! style="background-color: " |
|Union for a Popular Movement ||align="right"| 5
|-
! style="background-color: " |<span style="color:white; font-size:190%;">•</span>
|Miscellaneous Left ||align="right"| 2
|-
! style="background-color: " |
|New Centre ||align="right"| 2
|-
! style="background-color: " |<span style="color:white; font-size:190%;">•</span>
|French Communist Party ||align="right"| 1
|-
|}
Current national assembly representatives
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Constituency!!Member!!Party
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Indre-et-Loire's 1st constituency
| Charles Fournier
| The Ecologists
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Indre-et-Loire's 2nd constituency
| Daniel Labaronne
| Renaissance
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Indre-et-Loire's 3rd constituency
| Henri Alfandari
| Horizons
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Indre-et-Loire's 4th constituency
| Laurent Baumel
| Socialist Party
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Indre-et-Loire's 5th constituency
| Sabine Thillaye
| MoDem
|}
See also
- Cantons of the Indre-et-Loire department
- Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department
- Arrondissements of the Indre-et-Loire department