Rhône (department)

Rhône (French pronunciation: [ʁon]; Arpitan: Rôno) is a department of east-central France, in the central-southeastern Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Named after the river Rhône, its prefecture is Lyon. Its sole subprefecture is Villefranche-sur-Saône. In 2019, it had a population of 1,875,747.[3]

Rhône
Rôno (Arpitan)
Prefecture building of the Rhône department in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon
Prefecture building of the Rhône department in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon
Flag of Rhône
Coat of arms of Rhône
Location of Rhône in France
Location of Rhône in France
Coordinates: 45°50′N 04°40′E
CountryFrance
RegionAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes
PrefectureLyon
SubprefecturesVillefranche-sur-Saône
Government
  President of the Departmental CouncilChristophe Guilloteau[1] (LR)
Area
  Total2,715 km2 (1,048 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2020)[2]
  Total1,883,437
  Rank55th
  Density690/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number69D
Arrondissements2
Cantons13
Communes208
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km².

History

The department was created on August 12, 1793, when the former Rhône-et-Loire was split into two departments: Rhône and Loire.

Originally, the eastern border of Rhône was the city of Lyon itself, so that the communes immediately east of Lyon belonged to neighboring departments. With the growth of Lyon and the extension of its urban area into communes such as Villeurbanne, the limits of the department were judged impractical as they left the suburbs of Lyon outside of Rhône. Thus, Rhône was enlarged several times to incorporate into it the suburbs of Lyon from neighboring department:

  • In 1852, four communes from Isère were incorporated into Rhône.
  • In 1967, 23 communes of Isère and six communes of Ain were incorporated into Rhône.
  • In 1971, one commune from Isère was incorporated into Rhône.

With these enlargements, the area of the department increased from 2,791 km2 to 3,249 km2 (16.4% larger). At the 1999 French census, the original department of Rhône would have had only 1,071,288 inhabitants, which means that the population in the territories added in the last two centuries was 507,581 inhabitants in 1999.

In 2015 the Metropolis of Lyon was separated from the department of Rhône.[4] Rhône lost 16% of its territory, and 75% of its population.[5] Lyon, although no longer part of the department, remains its administrative center.

Geography

Rivers include the Rhône and the Saône (which joins the Rhône in Lyon). The neighboring departments are Ain, Isère, Loire and Saône-et-Loire.

Demographics

Population development since 1801 (with Lyon Metropolis) :

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1801299,390    
1831434,429+1.25%
1841500,831+1.43%
1851574,745+1.39%
1861662,493+1.43%
1872670,247+0.11%
1881741,470+1.13%
1891806,737+0.85%
1901843,179+0.44%
1911915,581+0.83%
1921956,566+0.44%
19311,046,028+0.90%
YearPop.±% p.a.
19361,028,379−0.34%
1946918,866−1.12%
1954966,782+0.64%
19621,116,664+1.82%
19681,325,571+2.90%
19751,429,647+1.09%
19821,445,208+0.15%
19901,508,966+0.54%
19991,578,869+0.50%
20061,669,653+0.80%
20161,835,903+0.95%
source:[6][7]

Before the Metropolis of Lyon was separated from the department, over 75% of its population lived within the Greater Lyon, which included all of the largest cities of the Rhône department, apart from Villefranche-sur-Saône.

The most populous commune of the new department of Rhône is Villefranche-sur-Saône. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:[3]

Commune Population (2019)
Villefranche-sur-Saône 36,291
Belleville-en-Beaujolais 13,314
Genas 13,181
Brignais 12,097
Tarare 10490

Politics

The President of the Departmental Council is Christophe Guilloteau, a member of the Republicans (LR).

Current National Assembly Representatives

ConstituencyMember[8]Party
Rhône's 1st constituency Thomas Rudigoz La République En Marche!
Rhône's 2nd constituency Hubert Julien-Laferrière Ecology Democracy Solidarity
Rhône's 3rd constituency Jean-Louis Touraine La République En Marche!
Rhône's 4th constituency Anne Brugnera La République En Marche!
Rhône's 5th constituency Blandine Brocard La République En Marche!
Rhône's 6th constituency Bruno Bonnell La République En Marche!
Rhône's 7th constituency Anissa Khedher La République En Marche!
Rhône's 8th constituency Patrice Verchère The Republicans
Rhône's 9th constituency Bernard Perrut The Republicans
Rhône's 10th constituency Thomas Gassilloud La République En Marche!
Rhône's 11th constituency Jean-Luc Fugit La République En Marche!
Rhône's 12th constituency Cyrille Isaac-Sibille MoDem
Rhône's 13th constituency Danièle Cazarian La République En Marche!
Rhône's 14th constituency Yves Blein La République En Marche!

This list includes representatives from Lyon Metropolis created in 2015 as a separate department.

Tourism

See also

References

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