Var (; ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is bordered on the east by the Alpes-Maritimes department; to the west by Bouches-du-Rhône; to the north of the river Verdon by the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department; and to the south by the Mediterranean Sea. It had a population of 1,119,307 in 2023. The average maximum daily temperature in August is 29.1 °C, and the average daily minimum temperature in January is 5.8 °C.

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

Principal towns

In 2022, the population of Var was 1.1 million, of whom 50% live in the agglomeration (urban unit) of Toulon, the prefecture and most populous commune. As of 2023, there are nine communes with more than 20,000 inhabitants:

{| class=wikitable

! Commune

! Population (2023)

|-

| Toulon†

| style="text-align: center;" | 179,116

|-

| La Seyne-sur-Mer†

| style="text-align: center;" | 63,732

|-

| Fréjus

| style="text-align: center;" | 59,719

|-

| Hyères†

| style="text-align: center;" | 55,858

|-

| Draguignan

| style="text-align: center;" | 40,826

|-

| Saint-Raphaël

| style="text-align: center;" | 37,113

|-

| Six-Fours-les-Plages†

| style="text-align: center;" | 37,109

|-

| La Garde†

| style="text-align: center;" | 26,476

|-

| La Valette-du-Var†

| style="text-align: center;" | 23,719

|-

| colspan=2|† part of the Toulon agglomeration

|}

Politics

In the 2017 French presidential election, Marine Le Pen of the National Front won a majority of the vote in Var in the first round, with François Fillon of The Republicans placing second. Emmanuel Macron of En Marche! won a majority in the second round.

In the 2022 French presidential election, Le Pen of the National Rally (formerly National Front) won a majority in Var in both rounds.

Departmental Council of Var

The Departmental Council of Var comprises 46 seats. In the 2021 departmental election, 26 seats were won by The Republicans (LR), 13 by miscellaneous right candidates, 3 by the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI), 2 by the National Rally (RN) and 2 by miscellaneous centre candidates. Var currently has no left-wing departmental councillors.

Since 2022, La Garde Mayor Jean-Louis Masson (LR) has been President of the Departmental Council of Var. His governing majority comprises all councillors except the two elected under the National Rally banner, who form the opposition.

Representation in Paris

Members of the National Assembly

In the 2024 legislative election, Var elected the following representatives to the National Assembly:

{| class="wikitable"

|-

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

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Var's 1st constituency

| Yannick Chenevard

| RE

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Var's 2nd constituency

| Laure Lavalette

| RN

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Var's 3rd constituency

| Stéphane Rambaud

| RN

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Var's 4th constituency

| Philippe Lottiaux

| RN

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Var's 5th constituency

| Julie Lechanteux

| RN

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Var's 6th constituency

| Frank Giletti

| RN

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Var's 7th constituency

| Frédéric Boccaletti

| RN

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Var's 8th constituency

| Philippe Schrek

| RN

|}

Members of the Senate

In the 2020 Senate election, Jean Bacci, Michel Bonnus, Françoise Dumont and André Guiol were elected from Var. All sit with the Senate Republicans group, except Guiol who sits with the European Democratic and Social Rally group.

Economy

The principal industry of Var is tourism, thanks largely to the big summer influx of tourists to the South of France and the Mediterranean coast in particular, but also inland to the Verdon River Canyon and hilltop villages and vineyards.

Tourism

[[Bormes-les-Mimosas|thumb]]

thumb|[[Cascade de Sillans]]

thumb|[[Saint-Tropez]]

Popular tourist attractions in Var include:

  • The port and beaches of Saint-Tropez;
  • The seaside village of Sainte-Maxime, with waterfront promenade, shops and restaurants, and a ferry service to Saint-Tropez;
  • The beach of Cavalaire-sur-Mer, the longest sand beach on the coast;
  • Boat tours of the Rade, or harbour, of Toulon, the main anchorage of the French Navy;
  • Wind-surfing offshore of the peninsula of Giens;
  • Le Thoronet Abbey, one of the best-preserved medieval Cistercian monasteries in France;
  • The Baptistery of Fréjus Cathedral, the oldest Christian structure in Provence;
  • The hilltop village of Bormes-les-Mimosas;
  • The Îles d'Hyères, including the underwater natural park around the Île de Port-Cros;
  • Hiking in the Massif de l'Esterel;
  • The hilltop villages of Gassin, Ramatuelle, Montauroux, Fayence, Callian, Seillans, Tourrettes, Saint-Paul-en-Forêt, Mons and Tanneron in the Fayence region;
  • The Verdon Gorge, Lake of Sainte-Croix and hilltop villages of the upper Var;
  • The hilltop villages, wine caves and vineyards near Bandol
  • The 12 beaches of Le Lavandou.

Industry

The construction industry employs 28,000 workers in the Var of which 4,000 work alone and 4,500 companies employ the remaining 24,000 salaried workers. Industry generates an annual turnover of €2.5 billion. Of this, €500 million is derived from public works.

Agriculture

800&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> or 13% of the total area is dedicated to agriculture, on which 40,000 people (14% of the Var working population) depend for their livelihoods. The department also has 10&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of horticultural land (of which 4&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> are covered). Var is France's largest grower of cut flowers, producing some 500&nbsp;million stems a year. Livestock farming is mainly sheep (50,000) and goats (4,200). Vines and viticultural related activities account for 345&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of farmland. The 450 domaines or coopératives and the 4 AOCs (appellation d'origine contrôlée) produce 150&nbsp;million litres of wine a year. Var leads the world in the production of rosé wine.

Other important agricultural products include olives (cultivated on 42&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of land—a quarter of all French olive groves—and processed in 40 mills), figs (the Var produces 80% of France's figs), and honey (800 tonnes per year). There are also 9&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of market gardens.

Agricultural turnover in Var is 610&nbsp;million per year, of which 45% is sales of wines and 42% of horticultural products.

In 2008 the Var department received approximately €15 million in farm subsidies under the EU Common Agriculture Policy, an average of about €6,000 per recipient farm. This compares with an average across France as a whole of over €18,000 per farm.

Viticulture

  • AOC Coteaux varois en Provence is a recent ' in Provence. The name Coteaux Varois was first used in 1945, and became an AOC in 1993. the name was changed to Couteaux Varois en Provence in 2005. The red wines principally use the grenache, cinsaut, mourvèdre and syrah grapes. White wines use the clairette, grenache blanc, rolle blanc, Sémillon Blanc, and Ugni Blanc. There are 22&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> in this AOL. It produces 80% rosés, 17% red wines, and 3% white wines.
  • Bandol AOC, is grown on the coast west of Toulon, mostly around the villages of La Cadière-d'Azur and Castellet. Wines of this appellation must have at least 50% Mourvèdre grapes, though most have considerably more. Other grapes used are Grenache, Cinsault Syrah and Carignan.

See also

  • Arrondissements of the Var department
  • Cantons of the Var department
  • Communes of the Var department
  • List of senators of Var

References

<!-- please keep this link: Dmoz page holds a Wikipedia back link -->

  • Prefecture website
  • Departmental Council website