Landes (; ; ) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, Southwestern France, with a long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It also borders Gers to the east, Pyrénées-Atlantiques to the south, Lot-et-Garonne to the north-east, and Gironde to the north. Located on the Atlantic coast, it had a population of 433,570 as of 2023. Most of the sheep departed during the second half of the nineteenth century when systematic development of large pine plantations transformed the landscape and the local economy.

One of the most famous individuals closely related to Landes was the 19th-century French economist Frédéric Bastiat.

The Nobel Prize–winning novelist François Mauriac set his novels in the Landes.

Geography

The Landes is part of the current region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. With an area stretching over more than 9000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, Landes is, after Gironde, the second largest department of the metropolitan French territory.

It is well known for the Côte d'Argent beach. Côte d'Argent is Europe's longest beach, and attracts many surfers to Mimizan and Soorts-Hossegor each year. It is also home to a château called Château de Gaujacq that was built in 1686.

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Woman on sandy beach (Unsplash).jpg|A view of Soorts-Hossegor

Contis vue du phare 4.jpg|The Landes forest in Contis

BordLac.jpg|The Lake of Biscarrosse

</gallery>

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Mont-de-Marsan, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 6 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:

{| class=wikitable

! Commune

! Population (2023)

|-

| Mont-de-Marsan

| style="text-align: center;" | 31,592

|-

| Dax

| style="text-align: center;" | 22,109

|-

| Biscarrosse

| style="text-align: center;" | 15,836

|-

| Saint-Paul-lès-Dax

| style="text-align: center;" | 14,481

|-

| Tarnos

| style="text-align: center;" | 12,957

|-

| Saint-Pierre-du-Mont

| style="text-align: center;" | 10,092

|}

Politics

Departmental Council of Landes

The president of the Departmental Council has been Xavier Fortinon of the Socialist Party since 2017. He succeeded former president of the National Assembly Henri Emmanuelli upon his death.

{| 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"| 17

|-

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

|Left Front ||align="right"| 3

|-

<!-- ! style="background-color: " |

|Union for a Popular Movement ||align="right"| 2

|-

! style="background-color: " |

|New Centre ||align="right"| 1

|- -->

! style="background-color: " |

|Union of the Republican Right and Independents ||align="right"| 10

|-

|}

National representation

In the 2024 legislative election, Landes elected the following members of the National Assembly:

{| class="wikitable"

|-

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

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Landes's 1st constituency

| Fabien Lainé

| MoDem

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Landes's 2nd constituency

| Lionel Causse

| Renaissance

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Landes's 3rd constituency

| Boris Vallaud

| Socialist Party

|}

In the Senate, Landes is represented by two members: Éric Kerrouche and Monique Lubin. Both have served since the 2017 Senate election.

Economy

Agriculture

Landes is known for its large pine forest which is the raw material for a timber and resin industries in the region. The forest was planted in the early nineteenth century to prevent erosion of the region's sandy soil by the sea.

Tourism

Landes is famous for its seaside resorts and natural spots, such as:

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File:Mimizan1.jpg|Mimizan

File:Confluent Mont de Marsan.JPG|Mont-de-Marsan

File:Hossegor 2008 (3).jpg|Surfer in Soorts-Hossegor

File:Messanges 079.jpg|Beach in Messanges

File:Labastide9.JPG|Labastide-d'Armagnac

File:ForetLandes.JPG|Landes forest, the largest maritime-pine forest in Europe

</gallery>

See also

  • Cantons of the Landes department
  • Communes of the Landes department
  • Arrondissements of the Landes department
  • Château de Belhade
  • Château de Castillon
  • Château de Lacaze
  • Château de Ravignan
  • Château du Prada

References

  • Prefecture website
  • Departmental Council website