View source for Gers

{{short description|Department of France}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
| name                    = Gers
| native_name             = 
| native_name_lang        = fr<!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| type                    = [[Departments of France|Department of France]]
| image_skyline           = (Auch) Façade ouest de la préfecture du Gers.jpg
| image_alt               = 
| image_caption           = [[Prefectures in France|Prefecture]] building in [[Auch]]
| image_flag              = Flag_of_Gers_Department_(vectorized).svg
| flag_alt                = 
| image_shield            = Blason département fr Gers.svg
| shield_alt              = 
| nickname                = 
| motto                   = 
| image_map               = Gers-Position.svg
| map_alt                 = 
| map_caption             = Location of Gers in France
| pushpin_map             = 
| pushpin_label_position  = 
| pushpin_map_alt         = 
| pushpin_map_caption     = 
| coordinates             = {{coord|43|39|N|0|35|E|region:FR_type:adm2nd|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint           = 
| coordinates_footnotes   = 
| subdivision_type        = Country
| subdivision_name        = [[France]]
| subdivision_type1       = [[Regions of France|Region]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[Occitania (administrative region)|Occitanie]]
| established_title       = 
| established_date        = 
| founder                 = 
| seat_type               = [[Prefectures in France|Prefecture]]
| seat                    = [[Auch]]
| parts_type              = [[Subprefectures in France|Subprefectures]]
| parts_style             = para
| p1                      = [[Condom, Gers|Condom]]<br>[[Mirande]]
| government_footnotes    = 
| leader_party            = [[Socialist Party (France)|PS]]
| leader_title            = [[List of presidents of departmental councils (France)|President of the Departmental Council]]
| leader_name             = Philippe Dupouy<ref name=pres>{{cite news|url=https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/occitanie/gers/auch/philippe-dupouy-succede-a-philippe-martin-a-la-tete-du-departement-du-gers-2433550.html|title=Philippe Dupouy succède à Philippe Martin à la tête du département du Gers|work=[[France 3]]|date=25 January 2022}}</ref>
| unit_pref               = Metric<!-- or US or UK -->
| area_magnitude          = 
| area_footnotes          = {{ref|area|1}}
| area_total_km2          = 6257
| area_note               = 
| elevation_footnotes     = 
| elevation_m             = 
| elevation_min_m         = 
| elevation_max_m         = 
| population_total        = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
| population_as_of        = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
| population_footnotes    = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes2}}
| population_rank         = [[List of French departments by population|90th]]
| population_density_km2  = auto
| population_demonym      = 
| population_note         = 
| blank_name_sec1         = [[Departments of France|Department number]]
| blank_info_sec1         = 32
| blank_name_sec2         = [[Arrondissements of France|Arrondissements]]
| blank_info_sec2         = [[arrondissements of the Gers department|3]]
| blank1_name_sec2        = [[Cantons in France|Cantons]]
| blank1_info_sec2        = [[cantons of the Gers department|17]]
| blank2_name_sec2        = [[Communes in France|Communes]]
| blank2_info_sec2        = [[communes of the Gers department|458]]
| timezone1               = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset1             = +1
| timezone1_DST           = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST         = +2
| postal_code_type        = 
| postal_code             = 
| area_code_type          = 
| area_code               = 
| iso_code                = 
| website                 = 
| footnotes               = {{note|area|1}} French Land Register data, which exclude [[estuary|estuaries]], and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km<sup>2</sup>
}}

'''The Gers''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒɛʁ(s)}}; {{langx|oc|Gers}} or {{lang|oc|Gerç}}, {{IPA|oc|dʒɛɾs|}}) is a [[departments of France|department]] in the [[regions of France|region]] of [[Occitania (administrative region)|Occitania]], Southwestern [[France]]. The Gers is bordered by the departments of [[Hautes-Pyrénées]] and [[Pyrénées-Atlantiques]] to the south, [[Haute-Garonne]] and [[Tarn-et-Garonne]] to the east, [[Lot-et-Garonne]] to the north and [[Landes (department)|Landes]] to the west.<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Gers |volume=11 |page=904}}</ref> Named after the [[Gers (river)|Gers River]], its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in [[French language|French]]. In 2023, it had a population of 192,645.<ref name=pophist/>

==History==
The Gers is one of the original 83 departments created during the [[French Revolution]] on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the [[provinces of France|former provinces]] of [[Guyenne]] and [[Gascony]]. In 1808 it lost [[Lavit]] on its north-eastern side to the newly created department of [[Tarn-et-Garonne]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fv3esqgryW4C&pg=PA63-PA64|title=The Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: Tai-Wan to Titlarks, Volume 24|publisher=Charles Knight and Co|year=1842|location=London|pages=63–64|language=en}}</ref>

==Culture==
The culture is largely agricultural, with great emphasis on the local [[gastronomy|gastronomical]] specialties such as:

* [[Armagnac (drink)|Armagnac]] brandy;
* [[Côtes de Gascogne]];
* [[Floc de Gascogne]];
* [[Foie gras]];
* Wild [[mushroom]]s.

Also, some prominent cultivated crops are [[maize]], [[colza]], [[sunflowers]] and [[grain]].

The [[Gascon language]] is a dialect of [[Occitan language|Occitan]], but it is not widely spoken. The department is characterised by sleepy [[bastide]] villages and rolling hills with the Pyrenees visible to the south. [[Alexandre Dumas, père]] created the famous Gersois [[d'Artagnan]], the fourth [[musketeer]] of ''[[The Three Musketeers]]''.  A museum to d'Artagnan is found in the Gersois village of [[Lupiac]].

A horse race at the [[Auteuil Hippodrome]] has been named after André Boingnères, a notable local race-horse owner and the successful Mayor of [[Termes-d'Armagnac]] between 1951 and 1976.

==Politics==
===Departmental Council of Gers===
The President of the Departmental Council of the Gers has been Philippe Dupouy of the [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist Party]] since 2022.<ref name=pres/> He succeeded [[Philippe Martin (politician)|Philippe Martin]], also from the Socialist Party, who had been in office since 2014. The assembly comprises 34 seats, allocated as follows since the [[2015 French departmental elections|2015 departmental elections]]:

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
!colspan=2| Party || Seats
|-
! style="background-color: {{party color|Socialist Party (France)}}" |<span style="color:white; font-size:190%;">•</span>
|[[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist Party]] ||align="right"| 22
|-
! style="background-color: {{party color|Union for a Popular Movement}}" |
|[[The Republicans (France)|The Republicans]] ||align="right"| 12
|}

===Members of the National Assembly===
The Gers elected the following members of the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] during the [[2017 French legislative election|2017 legislative election]]:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Constituency!!Member<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/|title=Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français|first=Assemblée|last=Nationale|website=Assemblée nationale}}</ref>!!Party
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|Renaissance (French political party)}}" |
| [[Gers's 1st constituency]]
| [[Jean-René Cazeneuve]]
| [[Renaissance (French political party)|Renaissance]]
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|Socialist Party (France)}}" |
| [[Gers's 2nd constituency]]
| [[David Taupiac]]
| [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist Party]]
|}

==Demography==
{{Historical populations
|align=none
|percentages=pagr
|footnote=Sources:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://splaf.free.fr/32his.html|title=Historique du Gers|website=Le SPLAF}}</ref><ref name=pophist>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/8643952?geo=DEP-32#tableau-POPREF_G1 Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023], INSEE</ref>
|graph-pos=bottom
|cols=2
|1801|257,609
|1806|287,021
|1821|301,336
|1831|312,160
|1841|311,447
|1851|307,479
|1861|298,931
|1872|284,717
|1881|281,532
|1891|261,084
|1901|238,448
|1911|221,994
|1921|194,406
|1931|193,134
|1936|192,451
|1946|190,431
|1954|185,111
|1962|182,264
|1968 |181577
|1975 |175366
|1982 |174154
|1990 |174587
|1999 |172335
|2007 |183615
|2012 |189530
|2017 |191091
|2023 |192645
}}
Located in Southwestern France, the Gers is amongst the least densely populated (31 people/km<sup>2</sup> in 2023), least urban, or most rural, areas in all of [[Western Europe]]. As of 2023, there are 9 communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants:<ref name=pop2023>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/fichier/8680694/dep23.pdf Populations de référence 2023: 23 Gers], INSEE</ref>

{| class=wikitable
! Commune
! Population (2023)
|-
| [[Auch]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 22,428
|-
| [[L'Isle-Jourdain, Gers|L'Isle-Jourdain]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 9,537
|-
| [[Condom, Gers|Condom]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 6,473
|-
| [[Fleurance]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 6,247
|-
| [[Eauze]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 4,108
|-
| [[Lectoure]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 3,670
|-
| [[Vic-Fezensac]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 3,577
|-
| [[Mirande]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 3,457
|-
| [[Gimont]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 3,146
|}

==Climate==

Annual rainfall varies from more than 900&nbsp;mm in the south-west of the department, to less than 700&nbsp;mm in the North-East ([[Auch]], [[Condom, Gers|Condom]], [[Lectoure]]).

Winters are overall mild, with only occasional freezing temperatures.
Summers are hot and dry. Together with [[Toulouse]], [[Nîmes]], [[Carpentras]], [[Ajaccio]], [[Marseille]],[[Toulon]] and [[Perpignan]], [[Auch]] is one of the hottest cities in France.

==Tourism==

According to recent data tourism represents annually:
* 610,000 tourists,
* 5,900,000 nights,
* 22,100 commercial beds,
* 2,400 tourism-related jobs,
* Tourists account for an equivalent of 17,100 permanent inhabitants,
* their estimated expenditure is €141,000,000.

<gallery>
File:Tower of Armagnac, Auch, Gers, France.JPG|[[Auch]]
File:Montréal Gers Place de l'hôtel de ville -1.JPG|[[Montréal, Gers]]
File:Larressingle - Enceinte fortifiée et tour ouest.jpg|[[Larressingle]]
File:Eglise Barran1.JPG|[[Barran]]
File:Armagnac-img 0465.jpg|[[Armagnac (brandy)|Armagnac]]
File:Moulard Duck Foie Gras with Pickled Pear.jpg|[[Foie Gras|Moulard duck foie gras with pickled pear]]
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Cantons of the Gers department]]
*[[Communes of the Gers department]]
*[[Arrondissements of the Gers department]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{AmCyc Poster}}
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://www.gers.fr/ Departmental Council website]
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://www.gers.gouv.fr/ Prefecture website]
* Welcome to the Gers in Gascony [http://www.tourisme-gers.com Tourisme Gers - Vos vacances en France dans le Gers, coeur du Sud Ouest et de l'Occitanie]

{{Departments of France}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Gers| ]]
[[Category:1790 establishments in France]]
[[Category:Departments of Occitania (administrative region)]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1790]]