Gard () is a department in

Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

, located in the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Populations légales 2019: 30 Gard
INSEE its

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

. The department is named after the river

Gardon The Gardon or Gard (Occitan language, Occitan and French language, French: ''Gardon, Gard'', , ) is a List of rivers of France, river in southern France. It is the namesake of the Departments of France, department of Gard. Several of its trib ...

. In recent decades of the 21st century, local administration and French speakers have returned to the original

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

name of the river, Gard (). It is part of a revival of Occitan culture.

History

In classical times the Gard area was settled by Romans and their allies. They built the

Via Domitia The Via Domitia was the first Roman road built in Gaul, to link Italy and Hispania through Gallia Narbonensis, across what is now Southern France. The route that the Romans regularised and paved was ancient when they set out to survey it, and tra ...

across the region in 118 BC. Centuries later, on 4 March 1790, Gard was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution. It comprised the ancient province of

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

. Originally this department was to include the canton of

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

, but Ganges was transferred to the neighbouring department of

Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...

. In return, Gard was assigned the fishing port of Aigues Mortes, which gave the department its own outlet to the

Gulf of Lion The Gulf of Lion or Gulf of Lions is a wide embayment of the Mediterranean coastline of Catalonia in Spain with Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence in France, extending from Begur in the west to Toulon in the east. The chief port on the gulf is ...

on the Mediterranean Sea. During the middle of the nineteenth century the prefecture, traditionally a centre of commerce with a manufacturing sector focused on textiles, was an early beneficiary of railway development, becoming an important railway junction. Several luxurious hotels were built, and the improved market access provided by the railways also encouraged, initially, a rapid growth in wine growing. But many winegrowers were ruined when the vineyards were infected with

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...

in 1872.

Geography

Gard is part of the

of Occitanie and is surrounded by the departments of

Lozère Lozère (; ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the ...

Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

and

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. The highest point in the department is

Mont Aigoual Mont Aigoual (; , elevation 1567m / 5141 ft) is the highest point of the Gard '' department'', France. It is part of the Massif Central, and it is located within the Cévennes National Park. Its southern slopes are the source of the river ...

. In the first quarter of the 21st century, the department has suffered serious

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing. The region has also been subject to some of the highest recorded temperatures in France's history as climate change alters summer heat.

Demographics

Population development since 1791: The inhabitants of Gard are called ''"Gardois"''. The most populous commune is

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are eight communes that have more than 10,000 inhabitants each:

Politics

In the closely contested first round of the 2012 presidential election, Gard was the only department to vote for the National Front candidate

Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician of the far-right National Rally, National Rally party (RN). She served as the party's president from 2011 to 2021, and ran for the French presidency in ...

by a slim plurality, with 25.51% of the vote. The incumbent President

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

of the

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...

party received 24.86% of the vote, while

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

candidate

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

received 24.11% of the vote share.

Departmental Council

The President of the Departmental Council has been Françoise Laurent-Perrigot of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

(PS) since 2021.

Members of the National Assembly

In the 2022 legislative election, Gard elected the following representatives to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

Tourism

Gard contains a part of the

Cévennes National Park Cévennes National Park () is a List of national parks of France, French national park located in Southern France, in the mountainous area of Cévennes. Created in 1970, the park has its administrative seat in Florac at Florac Castle. It is loca ...

. There are important Roman architectural remains in

, as well as the famous

Roman aqueduct The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported min ...

, the Pont du Gard. Gard is also home to the source of

Perrier Perrier ( , also , ) is a French brand of bottled water marketed as coming from its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard '' département''. Perrier was part of the Perrier Vittel Group SA, which became Nestlé Waters France after the acqu ...

, a carbonated mineral water sold both in France and internationally on a large scale. The spring and facility are located just south-east of the commune of Vergèze. File:Aiguèze.jpg,

Aiguèze Aiguèze (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Since 2005, Aiguèze has been a member of ''Les Plus Beaux Villages de France'' ("The most beautiful villages of France"), the first such location i ...

File:Chateau d'Uzès 12.JPG,

Uzès Uzès (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Uzès lies about north-northeast of Nîmes, west of Avignon, and southeast of Alès. History Originally ''Ucetia'' or ''Eutica'' in Latin, Uzès wa ...

File:Cascades Sautadet.jpg, Cèze