Toulouse
Toulouse (
Tolosa in
Occitan) is a city in southwest
France on the shores of the
Garonne River, half-way between the
Atlantic Ocean and the
Mediterranean Sea. With a population of 1.05 million inhabitants, Toulouse metropolitan area is the second largest metropolitan area of southern France and one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas of Europe. It is the home base of the European
aerospace industry, and the metropolitan area hosts the headquarters of
Airbus S.A.S..
Toulouse is the former capital of the province of
Languedoc (French provinces were abolished during the
French Revolution). It is the current capital of the
Midi-Pyrénées region (the largest region in France, encompassing only half of the former Languedoc province). It is also the
préfecture (capital) of the
Haute-Garonne département. It is the seat of the Académie des Jeux Floraux, the equivalent of the
French Academy for the Occitan-speaking regions of southern France, making Toulouse the unofficial capital of Occitan culture. The traditional Occitan cross was adopted as the symbol of both the City of Toulouse and the newly-found Midi-Pyrénées region.
Toulouse is officially twinned with the cities of
Atlanta (USA),
Chongqing (China),
Tel Aviv (Israel),
Kiev (Ukraine),
Bologna (Italy), and
Elche (Spain).
Population
The population of the city proper (French: commune) was 390,350 (as of the 1999 census), with 964,797 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (French: aire urbaine) (as of 1999 census).
Toulouse is the fourth largest city in France, after Paris, Marseilles and Lyon. In 1999 Toulouse was the fifth largest metropolitan area in France, after Paris, Lyon, Marseilles and Lille.
Fueled by booming aerospace and high-tech industries, record population growth of 1.5% a year (compared with a sluggish 0.37% for France as a whole) means Toulouse metropolitan area hit the 1,000,000 inhabitants mark in 2002 or 2003. Boasting the highest population growth of any European city of that size, Toulouse is well on its way to overthrow Lille as the fourth largest metropolitan area of France.
Government
The new mayor of Toulouse since May 6, 2004 is Jean-Luc Moudenc (center-right), who succeeded Philippe Douste-Blazy, appointed minister of Health in the French government on March 31, 2004. Philippe Douste-Blazy remains president of the Greater Toulouse Council.
\nThe Greater Toulouse Council (Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Toulouse) was created in 2001 to better coordinate transport, infrastructure and economic policies between the city of Toulouse and its immediate independent suburbs. It combines the city of Toulouse and 24 independent communes, covering an area of 380 km2 (147 sq. miles), totaling a population of 584,000 inhabitants. Due to local political feuds, the Greater Toulouse Council only hosts 61% of the population of the metropolitan area, the other independent suburbs having refused to join in.
History
- Main Article: History of Toulouse
Once a major metropolis of western Europe, Toulouse sank into a sleepy regional-level status in the 18th and 19th centuries, completely missing the Industrial Revolution. In the 20th century, relocation of key military and aerospace industries in Toulouse by the French central government have awakened the city again. In an ironic twist of history, what was once a big liability for Toulouse has now become its best asset: no Industrial Revolution meant a falling economic status for the city, but it has spared Toulouse the environmental damages and painful socio-economic restructuring that are plaguing so many northern European industrial cities.
Benefiting from its status as Europe's capital of aerospace industry, as well as from the flow of population from the industrial belt to the sunbelt of Europe, Toulouse metropolitan area doubled its population between 1960 and 2000 (in the meantime the population of France increased only by 30%). With good prospects for aerospace and biotech industries, growth is likely to continue in the near future. Toulouse is thus recovering step by step its former rank as a major European metropolis, but it faces increasing challenges: how to accommodate such a rapid growth, how to upgrade transport and develop housing and infrastructures, in short how to reinvent the city in the 21st century.
See also: Counts of Toulouse.
Economy
The main industries are aeronautics, space, electronics, information technology and biotechnology. Toulouse hosts one of the two main factories of Airbus.
Transportation
The metro is driverless (automatic), the VAL system (Véhicule Automatique Léger); the vehicles are rubber-tired.
Colleges and universities
The University of Toulouse (Université de Toulouse), established in 1230, is located here. It is today one of the largest university cities in France (second after Paris) with more than 110,000 students attending its 3 polytechnics and universities (Université Paul Sabatier, Université Toulouse Le Mirail, Arsenal), and engineering schools (ENSEEIHT, INSA, INPT, ...)
Culture
\nThere is a thriving scene of unusually beautiful graffiti in Toulouse. At its forefront is painter Miss Van.
Toulouse was the home of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944), most famous for his book Le Petit Prince (The little Prince). There is a permanent gallery with numerous photos, and some of his works, located in the Hotel du Grand Balcon--just off the Place du Capitole--where he had stayed.
Toulouse boasts a respected rugby team, Stade Toulousain, which has been a three-time finalist and two-time winner in Europe's top club competition in the sport, the Heineken Cup.
The city's gastronomic specialties include saucisses de Toulouse, a type of sausage; and cassoulet, a bean-and-pork stew.
Miscellaneous
Toulouse suffered the explosion of the AZF chemical plant on September 21, 2001. The plant was totally destroyed and the explosion damaged many houses, schools, churches, monuments and shops. More than 35,000 flats were damaged. The plant is 8 km (5 miles) from the centre of Toulouse. Twenty nine people died and several thousand were injured. The root of the explosion was in a building containing ammonium nitrate.
Toulouse is known as the "Rosy City" or "Pink City" ("Ville Rose") because of its distinctive brick architecture.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a renowned 1890's Parisian painter at the center of\nthe bohemian movement, the time of Van Gogh and Renoir. Too Loose To Truck was a Phil Lesh cover band in the mid 1970's, allegedly named that way as a misinterpretation pun on the painter's name.
External links
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Category:Cities, towns and villages of France\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
