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58-689: The Var flows through the Alpes-Maritimes département for most of its length, with a short (~15 km or ~9 mi) stretch in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département. It is a unique case in France of a river not flowing in the département named after it (see Var ). Until the beginning of the 19th century, the river had no bridges; it was the border between France and the County of Nice , then part of Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia . The river name

116-557: 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. 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

174-516: A portion of the former royal province of Provence . Its capital was originally Toulon , but this was moved to Grasse in 1793 to punish the Toulonnais for yielding the town to the British in 1793. Subsequently, the capital was moved to Brignoles in 1795, then to Draguignan in 1797. It was not returned to Toulon until 1974. In 1815, following the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo the department

232-465: A real estate scam and convicted four years later. The President of the Departmental Council has been Charles-Ange Ginésy since 2017, who took office upon succeeding Éric Ciotti . Ciotti remained a councillor and became majority leader. Ginésy, who has been a councillor for the canton of Vence since 2015, has held a seat in the council since 2003. He also was Mayor of Péone (2001–2017) and

290-593: A relatively small role although it has diversified into activities with high technological value. The construction and public works sector is quite important. The economy is very sensitive to changes in the national and international situation. The rate of unemployment is 9.1%. According to the INSEE, in 2005 the GDP per capita of the Alpes-Maritimes was 27,723 euros which ranked it as the thirteenth highest department in France. GDP

348-642: 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 1,076,711 in 2019. The Var department takes its name from the river Var , which flowed along its eastern boundary, until

406-525: Is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region , it encompasses the French Riviera alongside neighbouring Var . Alpes-Maritimes had a population of 1,094,283 in 2019. Its prefecture (and largest city) is Nice , with Grasse as the sole subprefecture . Alpes-Maritimes has become one of

464-696: Is attested in Latin as Vārus and in Ancient Greek as Ouãros (Οὐᾶρος). It stems from the Indo-European root * uōr - (earlier *uer- ), meaning 'water, river' (cf. Sanskrit vār , Old Norse vari ). The Var rises near the Col de la Cayolle (2,326 m/7,631 ft) in the Maritime Alps and flows generally southeast to its outflow into the Mediterranean Sea between Nice and Saint-Laurent-du-Var . Its main tributaries are

522-559: Is derived from public works. 800 km 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 km of horticultural land (of which 4 km are covered). Var is France's largest grower of cut flowers , producing some 500 million stems a year. Livestock farming is mainly sheep (50,000) and goats (4,200). Vines and viticultural related activities account for 345 km of farmland. The 450 domaines or coopératives and

580-526: Is in the foothills of the French Alps and largely mountainous. Major mountains include: The plateau of Canjuers (French: Plan de Canjuers ) in the northeast of Var gradually rises from 500 to 1,000 metres. In the south and west there are several plateaus, such as the plateau of Siou Blanc to the north of Toulon, which rise from 400 to 700 metres in altitude. The department of Var has a Mediterranean climate , slightly warmer, drier and sunnier than Nice and

638-503: Is possible in the interior during winter, unlike in Nice and rest of the coast, where frost is very rare. In the east of the department, unlike the west, there are no plains. In the Menton region, the altitude increases very rapidly inland, so the sea tempers the atmosphere much more: the maximum in summer is on average 25 °C (77 °F) and the winters are milder than in the interior and frost

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696-585: Is very rare. Snow is also rare along the coast, however, it happens that rare snowfall surprises the Côte d'Azur residents (on average every 5–7 years), as was the case in the winter of 2004–2005 when the city of Nice woke up with a few centimetres of snow, often creating traffic problems. More recently, in February 2010, more than 10 centimetres (3.9 in) of snow was measured in Cannes and nearly 30 centimetres (12 in) in

754-1126: The Cians , the Tinée , the Vésubie , the Coulomp , the Estéron , the Tuébi , the Chalvagne , the Barlatte , the Bourdous and the Roudoule . The Var flows through the following départements and towns: Bibliography This Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur geography article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in France is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes ( French: [alp(ə)maʁitim] ; Occitan : Aups Maritims ; Italian : Alpi Marittime ; lit.   ' Maritime Alps ' )

812-549: The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia , negotiated support for Napoleon III in exchange for Savoy and the County of Nice as set forth in the Treaty of Turin . The annexation was confirmed on 15 and 16 April 1860 by 30,712 male electors enrolled in the 89 communes of the County of Nice who, for the first time, had universal male suffrage by plebiscite . The "Yes" vote for reunification with France

870-522: The La République En Marche! (REM) centrist party. Of the five members of the Senate who represent the department in the upper house of Parliament, four are right-wing (LR) and one is left-wing ( Socialist Party , PS). Of the 54 departmental councillors, 52 are aligned with the right-wing coalition and two are in the left-wing opposition. In the 2022 French presidential election , Marine Le Pen of

928-491: The MP for Alpes-Maritimes's 2nd constituency (2005–2007; 2007–2008; 2009–2010; 2012–2017). Both are members of The Republicans (LR). The coalition majority in the departmental council is one of the largest majorities in any such institution in France. Out of the 54 seats, only two are held by left-wing councillors, both elected in the canton of Grasse-2 . In neighbouring Var , the right-wing coalition also holds all but two seats in

986-485: The Mediterranean Sea to the south. It surrounds the Principality of Monaco on the west, north and east. Its topography is very mixed. As its name suggests, most of the department is a constituent part of the overall topographic Alps – including the Maritime Alps – but it also has the distinction of being a coastal district with its Mediterranean coast. The coastal area, urbanized and densely populated (shaded in red on

1044-473: 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. In the 2024 legislative election , Var elected

1102-473: The National Rally won a plurality in Alpes-Maritimes in the first round; incumbent Emmanuel Macron of La République En Marche! won a majority in the second round. In the 1980s and 1990s, Alpes-Maritimes experienced corruption problems with its politicians, which led to several criminal convictions, including those of Nice Mayor Jacques Médecin and Cannes Mayor Michel Mouillot , as well as that of Antibes Mayor Pierre Merli, criminally indicted in 1995 for

1160-530: The perfume industry in Grasse , new technologies from Sophia-Antipolis , and the aerospace industry in Cannes-Mandelieu, where there is the first European satellite builders and the first industrial plant dedicated to spacecraft manufacturing. The presence of the Mediterranean Sea and the French Alps under a mild sky has favoured one dominant activity: tourism, which accounts for 64,000 jobs directly in

1218-523: The 1960s about 100,000 French citizens were repatriated from Algeria following the Algerian War of Independence and settled in the Var department. In 2014 , Fréjus Mayor David Rachline became the first Senator from Var elected under the National Front (later National Rally) banner; alongside Stéphane Ravier from neighbouring Bouches-du-Rhône , the two became the first National Front members of

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1276-458: The 4 AOCs ( appellation d'origine contrôlée ) produce 150 million litres of wine a year. Var leads the world in the production of rose wine. Other important agricultural products include olives (cultivated on 42 km 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 km of market gardens. Agricultural turnover in Var

1334-653: The Alpes-Maritimes, but is also less sheltered from the wind. Toulon has an average of 2899.3 hours of sunshine each year. The average maximum daily temperature in August is 29.1 °C, and the average daily minimum temperature in January is 5.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 665 mm. Winds exceeding 16 m/s (57.6 km/h) blow an average of 116 days per year in Toulon, compared with 77 days per year at Fréjus further east. Population development since 1801: In 2019,

1392-610: The Alpes-Maritimes. For only the city of Nice the tourism turnover represents a 12 to 13% share of the whole tourism market in France. The capital of the Côte d'Azur is the fifth most populous city in France. The city of Nice also has the second largest airport in France ( Nice Côte d'Azur Airport ), after Paris and its three airports at Roissy , Orly and Le Bourget . There are nearly 13.5 million passengers per year passing through Nice Airport. Var (department) Var ( French: [vaʁ] , Occitan: [ˈbaɾ] )

1450-524: The Alps close to Nice has an afforestation rate of 60.9%, slightly higher than the average of the department and well above the average of 39.4% for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. The rivers in alphabetical order are: It is the climate that made the Côte d'Azur famous. The current department of Alpes-Maritimes, however, does not have only one climate, the complex terrain and high mountains divide

1508-526: The Arrondissement of Puget-Théniers was merged into the Arrondissement of Nice in 1926. Since that time, the department has had two arrondissements . In 1947, in accordance with the Treaty of Paris and as a referendum result favourable to their attachment to France, the communes of Tende and La Brigue (also parts of communes in the high valleys of Vésubie and Tinée: part the commune of Isola ) which had not been ceded to France in 1860, were attached to

1566-458: The City of Nice. In terms of politics, Alpes-Maritimes is one of France's most right-wing departments, as the majority led by The Republicans in the departmental council holds all but two of the 54 seats following the 2021 election . The Alpes-Maritimes department is surrounded by the departments of Var in the southwest, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in the northwest; Italy to the north and east; and

1624-569: The Franco-Italian border which dominates the Vallée des Merveilles further east. The summit of Monte Argentera is higher at 3,297 metres (10,817 ft) above sea level, but it is located in Italy. There is also Mount Mounier (2,817 metres, 9,242 ft), which dominates the south of the vast Dôme de Barrot , formed of a mass more than 900 metres (3,000 ft) thick of red mudstones deeply indented by

1682-572: The Grasse region. In the north of the department the climate in the Alps is mountainous, and there is decent snow cover from end of November until late April. Alpes-Maritimes is divided into two arrondissements : Grasse and Nice , twenty-seven cantons and 163 communes . As of 1 January 2014, there were seven intercommunalities : The most populous commune is the prefecture Nice . As of 2019, there are 10 communes with more than 20,000 inhabitants: The Roman military district of Alpes Maritimae

1740-524: The Mediterranean coast in particular, but also inland to the Verdon River Canyon and hilltop villages and vineyards. Popular tourist attractions in Var include: 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

1798-526: The Senate under the Fifth Republic . The Var department has a surface area of 6,032 km . It had 420 km of coastline, including the offshore islands. 56% of its surface area is covered with forest. Its geological formations are divided into two regions; one composed of limestone to the northwest of a line between Toulon and Draguignan and of crystalline rock ( quartz ) to the southeast. The department

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1856-455: The boundary was moved in 1860 and the department is no longer associated with the river. Toulon is Var's largest city and administrative capital, known as the prefecture . Other important towns in Var include Fréjus , Saint-Raphaël , Draguignan , Brignoles , Hyères and La Seyne-sur-Mer . Var is known for the harbour of Toulon, the main port of the French Navy , for its seaside resorts,

1914-571: The commune of Entraunes . Then the route follows the Col de la Bonette – the highest pass in Europe at 2,715 metres (8,907 ft) – to connect to the valley of the Tinée then the Ubaye. Further east, the Col de la Lombarde (2,350 metres, 7,710 ft) above Isola 2000 allows access to the shrine of Saint-Anne de Vinadio in Italy. Finally, at its eastern end, the Col de Tende (1,871 metres, 6,138 ft) links with Cuneo in Italy. The only region of

1972-406: The department between those who are well exposed (the south-facing side) and those which are less (the north-facing side) and even with the mild Mediterranean climate there can be violent storms and prolonged droughts. The coastal area has a Mediterranean climate (rainfall in autumn November and spring February especially, summer drought, mild winter and dry summer). The interior, especially in

2030-584: The department in 1812 was 131,266, and its area was 3,226.74 square kilometres (1,245.85 sq mi), covering both present-day Arrondissement of Nice , Principality of Monaco and Province of Imperia . In 1814, at the close of the Napoleonic Wars , the territory was restored to the Crown of Savoy by the Congress of Vienna . In 1860 Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour , one of the architects of Italian unity with

2088-551: The department. Argent, an eagle crowned of gules displayed with wings inverted, on a mountain of three hillocks sable issuant from the pointed waves of a sea azure waved in argent. Since the end of World War II , Alpes-Maritimes has generally voted to the right. It has nine constituencies for the National Assembly . Following the 2017 legislative election , six constituencies are represented by members of The Republicans (LR) right-wing party and three by members of

2146-692: The departmental council, although it is made up of less many seats and the two councillors in opposition are members of the far-right National Rally (RN). Following the 2021 departmental election , the seats were allocated as follows in Alpes-Maritimes: Alpes-Maritimes elected the following MPs to the National Assembly in the 2022 legislative election : As of 2020, the department's five Senators are Marc Daunis (PS, since 2008), Colette Giudicelli (LR, since 2008), Jean-Pierre Leleux (LR, since 2008), Dominique Estrosi Sassone (LR, since 2014) and Henri Leroy (LR, since 2017). In 2011,

2204-429: The differences in temperature due to a warm sea in autumn. As soon as one moves away from the coast, towards the west of the department, the interior plains (in particular near Grasse) the climate is a little less temperate but just as sunny. In summer, the temperature very easily exceeds 30 °C (86 °F), while the average is only 27 °C (81 °F) along the Nice coast during July and August. Occasional frost

2262-465: The draft departmental budget amounted to €1.3 billion of which 498 million (38.3%) was devoted to social action and 346 million to operations (26.6%). Capital expenditures was just over 250 million euros (19.2%). In 2010, the department was the third most indebted in France with €942 million of debt or 68.4% of the annual budget. This debt amounted to 2,460 euros per fiscal tax unit (household) and 859 euros per person. The trend of change in debt over

2320-587: The following representatives to the National Assembly : 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 . The principal industry of Var is tourism, thanks largely to the big summer influx of tourists to the South of France and

2378-612: The gorges of Daluis and Cians . Except in winter, four passes allow passage to the north of the Mercantour-Argentera massif whose imposing 62-kilometre-long (39 mi) barrier is covered in winter snow which is visible from the coast. From the west, the Route des Grandes Alpes enters the Cayolle Pass (2,326 metres, 7,631 ft) first on the way to the Alps and the sources of the Var in

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2436-437: The last decade has been a sharp increase: + 440% between 2001 and 2009 and 26% between 2009 and 2010. There was only €43 million in debt in 2003. The Departmental Council of Alpes-Maritimes is currently sponsoring several large projects: The Alpes-Maritimes Departmental Council has charged 1 euro per vehicle journey in the department, regardless of distance, since 1 January 2008. When Nice became part of France in 1860, it

2494-463: The map), includes all the cities in an almost continuous conurbation from Cannes to Menton , while the larger but sparsely populated mountainous area (light green) is fully rural with the exception of the three large resorts of Valberg (created in 1936), Auron (created in 1937) and Isola 2000 (created in 1971). The highest point of the department is the Cime du Gélas (3,143 metres, 10,312 ft) on

2552-582: The most famous of which is Saint-Tropez , for some fine examples of Romanesque and other medieval architecture, such as Le Thoronet Abbey and the Fréjus Cathedral , for its wines, particularly the wines of Bandol , as well as for its motorsport race track Circuit Paul Ricard , located in Le Castellet . The department of Var was created at the time of the French Revolution , on 4 March 1790, from

2610-600: The new department. In 1884 a cholera epidemic struck Toulon. The leader of the fight against the epidemic was Georges Clemenceau , a doctor and a member of the National Assembly for the Seine department. He was later elected a member of the Chamber of Deputies for the Var department from 1888 to 1893 and Senator from 1902 to 1920, during which time he also served as Prime Minister of France . The First World War (1914–1918) stimulated growth in shipyards and military industries in

2668-414: The north, has a mountain climate (winter quite bright, summer storms). Around Cannes is a particularly warm micro-climate due to the high hills warming the air which descends on the city. One of the attractions of the department is its level of sunshine: over 300 days per year. Despite this the department is also the most stormy of France with an average of 70 to 90 thunderstorm days per year, arising from

2726-411: The population can trace some degree of ancestry back to Italy before it was annexed by France in the 1860s. The economy of the Alpes-Maritimes is characterized by the importance of the tertiary sector . The department has, in addition to tourism and traditional services, a relatively high level of corporate research and higher level of services. Agriculture is of little importance and industry plays

2784-455: The population of Var was 1,076,711, of whom 51% live in the agglomeration ( urban unit ) of Toulon , the prefecture and most populous commune. As of 2019, there are nine communes with more than 20,000 inhabitants: 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

2842-630: The region, but weakened the agricultural and food industries. In 1942 the German Army moved from Occupied France into the zone libre , which included the Var department. The French Fleet was sabotaged in Toulon Harbour to keep it from falling into German hands. The Maquis Vallier , a group of maquis resistance fighters, was active. On 15 August 1944 American and Free French forces land at Saint-Tropez , Sainte-Maxime and Saint-Raphaël . The Free French fleet arrived at Toulon on 13 September. In

2900-578: The total population. The department had 1,083,310 inhabitants in 2017, making it the 20th most populated department in France. There are 163 communes including 107 under 2000 inhabitants (representing a total of 60,065 inhabitants), 38 from 2000 to 9999 inhabitants (total 171,935 inhabitants), 13 between 10,000 and 49,999 inhabitants (total 263,102 inhabitants), 4 between 50,000 and 199,999 inhabitants (Antibes, Cannes, Cagnes-sur-Mer and Grasse, total 248,191 inhabitants), and one with over 200,000 inhabitants (Nice, with 340,017 inhabitants). The population density

2958-480: The world's most attractive tourist destinations in recent decades, featuring renowned cities and towns such as Nice , Grasse , Cannes , Antibes , Menton , Èze , Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and Sainte-Agnès , as well as numerous alpine ski resorts. It also entirely surrounds the Principality of Monaco . The department's inhabitants are called Maralpins (masculine) or Maralpines (feminine) but are more commonly referred to as "Azuréens"; its flag and arms are those of

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3016-512: Was 252 inhabitants per square kilometre in 2017. According to INSEE 39.5% of children born in 2011 in the department of Alpes-Maritimes have at least one parent born abroad (regardless of nationality), 15.4% have a father born in North Africa . The area is also known for its extremely large population of people of Italian descent. About 40% of the population of the Alpes-Maritimes claim their ancestry as being solely Italian, and as many as 80% of

3074-565: Was 29.6 billion euros. According to Eurostat, GDP per capita at market prices in 2008 , the department had a GDP per capita of 30,700 euros, which is also ranked it thirteenth in France. Tourism is an essential industry for the entire coastal region ( Côte d'Azur ) and is highly developed. On the coast, thanks to the mild climate, towns are resort destinations all year round. In the mountains, there are winter sports stations that have received abundant snow in recent years, particularly Isola 2000 . There are also well-developed industries such as

3132-560: Was 83.8% of registered voters and 99.2% of votes. The new department of Alpes-Maritimes consisted of the former County of Nice, divided into an Arrondissement of Nice and an Arrondissement of Puget-Théniers (both arrondissements existed in the former Department (1793–1814)), and a portion of the Var department , which formed the Arrondissement of Grasse . However, the County of Nice did not include Tende and La Brigue , which were still part of Piedmont-Sardinia. For economic reasons,

3190-597: Was created by Augustus in 14 BC. It became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century AD, with its capital first at Cemenelum (today Cimiez , a suburb north of Nice ) and subsequently at Embrun . At its greatest extent in AD 297, the province reached north to Digne and Briançon . Conquered by the French First Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars , a department of Alpes-Maritimes

3248-503: Was first set up in 1793 with different boundaries from those of the modern department. In 1793, Alpes-Maritimes included Monaco ( Port Hercules ), but not Grasse , which was then part of the department of Var as an historical part of France. In 1805, San Remo (San Rème) was included after the disbandment of the Ligurian Republic . In 1812, the department had three arrondissements with the following cantons : The population of

3306-414: Was occupied by Austrian troops until November 1818. In 1854 the first railroad reached Toulon. With the creation of the new department of Alpes-Maritimes in 1860 and following the annexation by France of Nice, the eastern part of the department, corresponding to the arrondissement of Grasse , was moved to the new department. This move also shifted the river Var, which had given the department its name, to

3364-412: Was still a small town; the department had fewer than 200,000 inhabitants. However, the population grew quickly from 300,000 at the beginning of the 20th century to over a million. The population is aging because of the number of retirees who move to the coast. The population is now concentrated in the urban region that includes Antibes , Cannes , Grasse , Nice, and Menton , and which constitutes 90% of

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