Tarn-et-Garonne (; ) is a department in the Occitania region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its name. The area was originally part of the former provinces of Quercy and Languedoc. The department was created in 1808 under Napoleon, with territory taken from the neighbouring Lot, Haute-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, Gers and Aveyron departments.

The department is mostly rural with fertile agricultural land in the broad river valley, but there are hilly areas to the south, east and north. The departmental prefecture is Montauban; the sole subprefecture is Castelsarrasin. In 2023, it had a population of 265,817.

The kings of both England and France around this time tried to curry favour by adding to the privileges of the towns and the district. In 1360, the Treaty of Brétigny was signed and the whole of Quercy passed to England. However, in the 1440s the English were finally expelled by the newly created army of Charles VII of France. In the 16th century Quercy was a stronghold of the Protestants, and the scene of fierce religious conflicts. The civil wars of the reign of Louis XIII largely took place around Montauban.

After Napoleon's defeat in 1815, the monarchy was re-established in France, but the discredited Bourbon Dynasty was overthrown in the July Revolution of 1830, which established the constitutional July Monarchy, which lasted until 1848. During this time the divide between the rich and poor increased; in Montauban, hundreds turned to begging as wages fell, factories closed and food prices rose; rioting was widespread and the home of the mayor was stoned by building workers in 1847.

History of the department

thumb|left|Map of the region before the creation of the department

Before the department's formation in the nineteenth century, the northern half formed part of the old province of Quercy and the southern half, part of Languedoc. The department was created on 4 November 1808 during the First French Empire by a decision of Napoleon. The emperor had been invited to visit the town of Montauban, an important industrial and commercial centre at the time, whose populace thought the town was central enough and sufficiently important to be the capital of a new department. He was impressed by their loyalty and granted their request. Montauban is connected to the Garonne via the Canal de Montech.

The central part of the department is a broad river valley that does not exceed in altitude, but near the commune of Valence-d'Agen, in the extreme west of the department, the valley narrows as the hilly regions of Bas-Quercy to the north and Lomagne to the south draw closer together. In the northeast of the department is higher land in the form of limestone plateaus known as the Causses, part of the Massif Central.

Demographics

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Montauban, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are seven communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:

{| class=wikitable

! Commune

! Population (2023)

|-

| Montauban

| style="text-align: center;" | 62,945

|-

| Castelsarrasin

| style="text-align: center;" | 14,343

|-

| Moissac

| style="text-align: center;" | 13,419

|-

| Caussade

| style="text-align: center;" | 6,803

|-

| Montech

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

|-

| Nègrepelisse

| style="text-align: center;" | 5,917

|-

| Valence

| style="text-align: center;" | 5,289

|}

Politics

Departmental Council of Tarn-et-Garonne

The Departmental Council of Tarn-et-Garonne has 30 seats. The president of the Departmental Council is Michel Weill, elected in July 2021.

{| class="wikitable"

|+Composition of the Departmental Council since 2021

|-

| colspan="5" |center|frameless|260x260px

|-

! colspan="2" |Political group

!Party

!Seats

!Position

|-

| style="background:;" |

|Radicaux et apparentés

|PRG

|11

| rowspan="2" |Majority

|-

| style="background:;" |

|Tarn-et-Garonne en commun

|PS

|5

|-

| style="background:;" |

|Le Tarn-et-Garonne d'abord

|DVC

|6

| rowspan="3" |Opposition

|-

| style="background:;" |

|Engagés pour le Tarn-et-Garonne

|LR

|4

|-

| style="background:;" |

|Non-inscrits

|RN (2) - DVG (2)

|4

|}

Members of the National Assembly

Tarn-et-Garonne elected the following members of the National Assembly during the 2022 legislative election:

{| class="wikitable"

|-

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

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Tarn-et-Garonne's 1st constituency

| Brigitte Barèges

| Union of the Right for the Republic

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Tarn-et-Garonne's 2nd constituency

| Marine Hamelet

| National Rally

|}

<gallery>

File:Montauban - place nationale.jpg|National square in Montauban

File:Bruniquel - Ensemble -1.jpg|Bruniquel, one of the formally listed "Most Beautiful Villages of France"

File:Église de Lauzerte.JPG|Saint Barthelemy church in Lauzerte

File:MaisonDuRoy-StAntonin.jpg|The "King's House" in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val

File:Moissac facade SaintPierre.jpg|Saint Peter abbey in Moissac

File:Château de Montauriol (Montauban).jpg|Château de Montauriol, seat of the Departmental Council of Tarn-et-Garonne

</gallery>

See also

  • Cantons of the Tarn-et-Garonne department
  • Communes of the Tarn-et-Garonne department
  • Arrondissements of the Tarn-et-Garonne department

References

  • Prefecture of Tarn-et-Garonne website
  • Departmental council of Tarn-et-Garonne website
  • Arkheia History Review of Tarn-et-Garonne website