Lozère

Lozère (; ) is a landlocked department in the region of Occitanie in southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the east by Ardèche, to the south by Gard, to the west by Aveyron, and the northwest by Cantal. It is named after Mont Lozère. With 76,486 inhabitants as of 2023, there of Lesura and Gabalis (Lozère and Gévaudan); but its excellence is only very short-lived, and it must be eaten while it is fresh.

Between 1764 and 1767, the Beast of Gévaudan, a creature believed to be a large wolf or an exotic animal, terrorized the general area in the Margeride Mountains of the former province of Gévaudan (nearly identical with the modern Lozère department).

Geography

Lozère has an area of .

|graph-pos=bottom

|cols=2

|1801|126,503

|1806|143,247

|1821|133,934

|1831|140,347

|1841|140,788

|1851|144,705

|1861|137,367

|1872|135,190

|1881|143,565

|1891|135,517

|1901|128,866

|1911|122,738

|1921|108,822

|1931|101,849

|1936|98,480

|1946|90,523

|1954|82,391

|1962|81,868

|1968 |77258

|1975 |74825

|1982 |74294

|1990 |72825

|1999 |73509

|2007 |76880

|2012 |76889

|2017 |76601

|2023 |76486

Lozère is the least populated French department, and the least densely populated in Metropolitan France. Its 2019 population of 76,604 gives it a population density of inhabitants/km2. The department boasts a population similar in size to that of the country of Andorra, the neighbouring country that borders to the south. Since the end of the 19th century the department has seen its population decline due to negative migration, the last fifteen years have nevertheless shown a new upward trend. The reasons given for this trend are the quality of the living environment, the improvement of the road transport and communication network and to a lesser extent heliotropism. It is nevertheless an elderly population with high purchasing power. The inhabitants of Lozère are known, in French, as Lozériens and Lozériennes.

The population is concentrated in three main urban centers: Mende, Saint-Chély-d'Apcher and Marvejols which together account for a third of the department's population. Some other small centers (Langogne, Florac, Aumont-Aubrac, La Canourgue, etc.) appear as small living areas but are unable to attract young people, including the exodus towards neighboring metropolises (Clermont-Ferrand in the north, Montpellier and Nîmes to the south) is increasingly important.

Because of its low population density, it is considered to fall within the empty diagonal. The department also has the lowest urbanization rate in France, with only 25% of its population in cities (compared to the national average of 82%).

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Mende, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 8 communes with more than 2,000 inhabitants:

{| class=wikitable

! Commune

! Population (2023)

| Mende

| style="text-align: center;" | 12,464

| Marvejols

| style="text-align: center;" | 4,764

| Saint-Chély-d'Apcher

| style="text-align: center;" | 3,955

| Langogne

| style="text-align: center;" | 2,836

| Peyre en Aubrac

| style="text-align: center;" | 2,296

| Florac Trois Rivières

| style="text-align: center;" | 2,100

| Bourgs sur Colagne

| style="text-align: center;" | 2,091

| La Canourgue

| style="text-align: center;" | 2,074

Administration

The département is managed by the Departmental Council of Lozère in Mende. , the President of the council is Sophie Pantel. Lozère is part of the region of Occitanie.

Administrative divisions

There are 2 arrondissements, 13 cantons and 152 communes in Lozère.

{| class="wikitable"

|- style="background:#efefef;"

! INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population

Bourgs sur Colagne (4803)
La Canourgue (4802)
Le Collet-de-Dèze (4804)
Florac Trois Rivières (4805)
Grandrieu (4806)
Langogne (4807)
Marvejols (4808)
Mende-1 (4809)
Mende-2 (4810)
Peyre en Aubrac (4801)
Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole (4811)
Saint-Chély-d'Apcher (4812)
Saint-Étienne-du-Valdonnez (4813)

Economy

The main activities are cattle farming and tourism. There is barely any arable farming in Lozère due to poor soil quality. The hardy Aubrac is the most commonly farmed cattle breed here.

The region has one of the lowest rates of unemployment in France, which may be attributed to the enforced long-standing tradition whereby young people emigrate to cities such as Lyon, Marseille, and Montpellier when they reach working age.

Land use

thumb|Grain fields near [[Les Bondons, dominated by the hills called Puechs des Bondons]]

Lozère is a rural department, with relatively little land taken up by roads and buildings. Overall the land use is divided as follows:

Forest 43.81%
Heath & other open land 31.19%
Arable land 12.74%
Fields 11.36%
Roads and buildings 0.54%
Rivers and ponds 0.3%

Politics

Current National Assembly Representative

{| class="wikitable"

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

|style="background-color: " |

| Lozère's constituency

| Sophie Pantel

| Socialist Party

Tourism

Tourist activities include caving and a variety of sports, such as skiing and kayaking. Lozère contains a part of the Cévennes National Park. Lozère is considered one of the best areas in France for trout fishing. Rivers such as the Lot, Tarn and Truyère are particularly noted for their trout populations.

File:Mende-cathedrale-1.JPG|Mende

File:France Lozere Marvejols Eglise Notre Dame de la Carce.jpg|Church of Marvejols

File:Sainte Enimie une place.jpg|Sainte-Enimie, one of the most beautiful villages of France

File:Cevennes National Park, France.jpg|Cévennes National Park

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