Ardennes (department)

Ardennes
Department
Prefecture building of the Ardennes department, in Charleville-Mézières
Prefecture building of the Ardennes department, in Charleville-Mézières
Flag of Ardennes
Flag
Coat of arms of Ardennes
Coat of arms
Location of Ardennes in France
Location of Ardennes in France
Coordinates: 49°30′N 4°40′E / 49.500°N 4.667°E / 49.500; 4.667
CountryFrance
RegionGrand Est
Département4 March 1790
PrefectureCharleville-Mézières
SubprefecturesRethel, Sedan, Vouziers
Government
[1]
 • PresidentBenoît Huré
Area
[2]
 • Total5,229.4 km2 (2,019.1 sq mi)
Population
 (2014)[3]
 • Total279,715
 • Density53/km2 (140/sq mi)
DemonymArdennais
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeFR-08
Arrondissements4
Cantons19
Communes452
Websitewww.cd08.fr

Ardennes is a department in the Grand Est region of northeastern France named after the Ardennes forest. Its prefecture is the city of Charleville-Mézières.

History

Ardennes is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with Mézières as is capital. It was formed with the former province of Champagne, the principalities of Sedan and Argonne and other territories.[4]

It was divided in six districts: Charleville, Grandpré, Rethel, Rocroi, Sedan and Vouziers.

In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the six districts were changed into five arrondissements: Mézières, Rethel, Rocroi, Sedan and Vouziers.[4]

On 10 September 1926, the arrondissements of Rocroi and Sedan were eliminated but in 1942 Sedan was made again an arrondissement.[4]

The communes of Charleville and Mézières are joined to form the new commune of Charleville-Mézières; it was named the capital of the department.

Geography

Ardennes is part of the Grand Est region. It has an area of 5,229.4 km2 (2,019 sq mi).[2]

The department borders with Belgium (Namur and Luxembourg provinces) and 3 other departments in 2 regions:

The highest point of the department is Croix-Scaille (46°16′22″N 04°50′31″E / 46.27278°N 4.84194°E / 46.27278; 4.84194 (La Croix-Scaille)) with an altitude of 500–505 m (1,640–1,657 ft) high.;[5] it is found between the French commune of Hautes-Rivières and the Belgian commune of Gedinne.

The lowest point is on the Aisne river in Brienne-sur-Aisne, 57 m (187 ft) high.

Several rivers flow through the department; the main rivers are the Meuse, in the north, and the Aisne, in the south.

Climate

The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Charleville-Mézières is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Marine West Coast Climate) and of the subtype "Cfb".[6]

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Charleville-Mézières is 703.6 mm (27.7 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is November with 86.4 mm (3.4 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is June with an average of 38.1 mm (1.5 in).

The average temperature for the year in Charleville-Mézières is 9.9 °C (49.8 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 18.1 °C (64.6 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 2.3 °C (36.1 °F).

Climate data for Charleville-Mézières, France
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 5.1
(41.2) 		6.6
(43.9) 		10.8
(51.4) 		14.6
(58.3) 		18.8
(65.8) 		21.6
(70.9) 		24.1
(75.4) 		23.7
(74.7) 		19.6
(67.3) 		14.9
(58.8) 		9.1
(48.4) 		5.7
(42.3) 		14.6
(58.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 2.3
(36.1) 		3.0
(37.4) 		6.2
(43.2) 		9.0
(48.2) 		13.1
(55.6) 		15.9
(60.6) 		18.1
(64.6) 		17.7
(63.9) 		14.3
(57.7) 		10.6
(51.1) 		5.9
(42.6) 		3.1
(37.6) 		9.9
(49.9)
Average low °C (°F) −0.5
(31.1) 		−0.7
(30.7) 		1.6
(34.9) 		3.3
(37.9) 		7.3
(45.1) 		10.2
(50.4) 		12.1
(53.8) 		11.7
(53.1) 		8.9
(48.0) 		6.2
(43.2) 		2.7
(36.9) 		0.5
(32.9) 		5.3
(41.5)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 68
(2.7) 		51.9
(2.04) 		46.9
(1.85) 		58.9
(2.32) 		50.9
(2.00) 		38.7
(1.52) 		41.8
(1.65) 		37.1
(1.46) 		56.8
(2.24) 		80.7
(3.18) 		87.4
(3.44) 		83.7
(3.30) 		702.8
(27.7)
Source: Weatherbase.com [1]

Administration

Ardennes is managed by the Departmental Council of Ardennes in Charleville-Mézières. The department is part of the Grand Est region.

Administrative divisions

There are 4 arrondissements (districts), 19 cantons and 452 communes (municipalities) in Ardennes.[7]

Arrondissements of the Ardennes
INSEE
code		 Arrondissement Capital Population[8]
(2014)		 Area[9]
(km²)		 Density
(inh./km²)		 Communes
081 Charleville-Mézières Charleville-Mézières 160,939 1,825.3 88.2 160
082 Rethel Rethel 37,142 1,199.7 31.0 101
083 Sedan Sedan 59,584 792.2 75.2 73
084 Vouziers Vouziers 22,050 1,412.2 15.6 118

The following is a list of the 19 cantons of the Ardennes department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:[10]

  1. Attigny (0801)
  2. Bogny-sur-Meuse (0802)
  3. Carignan (0803)
  4. Charleville-Mézières-1 (0804)
  5. Charleville-Mézières-2 (0805)
  6. Charleville-Mézières-3 (0806)
  7. Charleville-Mézières-4 (0807)
  8. Château-Porcien (0808)
  9. Givet (0809)
  10. Nouvion-sur-Meuse (0810)
  11. Rethel (0811)
  12. Revin (0812)
  13. Rocroi (0813)
  14. Sedan-1 (0814)
  15. Sedan-2 (0815)
  16. Sedan-3 (0816)
  17. Signy-l'Abbaye (0817)
  18. Villers-Semeuse (0818)
  19. Vouziers (0819)

Demographics

The inhabitants of the Ardennes department are known, in French, as Ardennais (women: Ardennaises),[11]

Ardennes had a population, in 2014, of 279,715,[3] for a population density of 53.5 inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Charleville-Mézières, with 160,939 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with more inhabitants.[8]

Evolution of the population in the Ardennes

The main communes in the department are:[8]

City Population
(2014)[8] 		Arrondissement
Charleville-Mézières 48,615 Charleville-Mézières
Sedan 17,829 Sedan
Rethel 7,778 Rethel
Givet 6,659 Charleville-Mézières
Revin 6,586 Charleville-Mézières
Nouzonville 6,107 Charleville-Mézières
Bogny-sur-Meuse 5,222 Charleville-Mézières

References

  1. ↑ "Composition de la Commissions Permanente" (in French). Conseil Départemental des Ardennes. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Département des Ardennes (08) - Résumé statistique". Publications et statistiques pour la France ou les régions (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Populations légales 2014 des départements et des collectivités d'outre-mer" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Historique des Ardennes". Le SPLAF (in French). Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "La Croix Scaille, France". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "Charleville-Mézières, France - Köppen Climate Classification". Weatherbase. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Département des Ardennes (08)" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Régions, départements, arrondissements, cantons et communes" (PDF). Populations légales 2014 (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  9. ↑ "Département des Ardennes (08) et Arrondissements". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  10. ↑ "Décret n° 2014-203 du 21 février 2014 portant délimitation des cantons dans le département des Ardennes" (in French). Légifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  11. ↑ "Habitants du départment: Ardennes (08)" (in French). habitants.fr. Retrieved 14 November 2016.

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