Franche-Comté

Région Franche-Comté

(Région flag) (Région logo)
Capital	Besançon
Area	16,202 km²
Regional President	Raymond Forni (PS) (since 2004)
Population   - 2004 estimate   - 1999 census   - Density	(Ranked 20th) 1,133,000 1,117,059 70/km² (2004)
Arrondissements	8
Cantons	116
Communes	1,786
Départements	Doubs Haute-Saône Jura Territoire de Belfort

Franche-Comté (the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy) is a région and a traditional province of eastern France. The principal cities are Besançon (the historic capital of the region) Belfort and Montbéliard (Aire Urbaine Belfort-Montbéliard-Héricourt-Delle).

History

Main article: County of Burgundy

A territory of Burgundy from 888, the province became subject to the Holy Roman Empire in 1034 and was definitively separated from the neighbouring duchy of Burgundy upon the latter's incorporation into France in 1477. Transferred to Spain in 1556, the Franche-Comté was occupied by the French in 1668 but handed back at the subsequent peace; conquered a second time in 1674, it was finally ceded to France at the Treaty of Nijmegen, 1678.

The region's population fell by a fifth between the censuses of 1851 and 1946, reflecting low French natural growth and migration to more urbanised parts of the country. Most of the decline occurred in Haute-Saône and Jura, which remain among the country's more agriculture-dependent areas.

Culture

The regional language, Franc-Comtois, is spoken by a minority of people and is recognised as one of the Languages of France.

Regions of France
Alsace | Aquitaine | Auvergne | Lower Normandy | Burgundy | Brittany | Centre | Champagne-Ardenne | Corsica | Franche-Comté | Upper Normandy | Île-de-France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Limousin | Lorraine | Midi-Pyrénées | Nord-Pas-de-Calais | Loire Region | Picardy | Poitou-Charentes | Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur | Rhône-Alpes
Overseas Departments
Guadeloupe | Martinique | French Guiana | Réunion

Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.

Submit a Site - Open Directory Project - Become an Editor