Languedoc

Languedoc (Lengadòc in Occitan) is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² (16,490 sq. miles).

Economy

Agriculture

Languedoc is a significant producer of wine, historically of indifferent quality, and a major contributor to the surplus known as the "wine lake". Today it produces more than a third of the grapes in France, and is undergoing something of a renaissance due to an increased focus on quality and outside investment. Wines from the Mediterranean coast of Languedoc are labeled as Languedoc, those from the interior have other labels such as Fronton, Gaillac, or Limoux.

Related Topics:
Wine - Wine lake - Grape - Fronton - Gaillac - Limoux

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Other crops include wheat (the traditional crop which made the fortune of the landlords and parliamentarians based in Toulouse, and for whose trade the famous Canal du Midi was built), maize (the new and nowadays most popular crop in the region), olives (only on the Mediterranean coast of Languedoc), fruit, and rice (in some coastal areas). In the hilly and mountainous areas of the interior, sheep and goat are raised for meat and cheese. The coastal area is, naturally, a source of fish and shellfish.

Related Topics:
Wheat - Toulouse - Canal du Midi - Maize - Olive - Fruit - Rice - Sheep - Goat - Cheese - Fish

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Industry

Aerospace (Airbus, EADS, CNES, etc.), electronics (Motorola, etc.), and bio-tech industries in Toulouse; high-tech, electronics, and computer (IBM) industries in Montpellier; pharmaceutical industry (Pierre Fabre Group) in Castres.

Related Topics:
Airbus - EADS - CNES - Motorola - Toulouse - IBM - Montpellier - Pierre Fabre Group - Castres

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There is also a significant chemical sector in Toulouse, which has been quite battered since the terrible explosion of AZF on September 21, 2001. It has been decided that chemical industries would be moved out of Toulouse, and a large campus devoted to cancer research and bio-tech R&D will be opened on the site.

Related Topics:
Toulouse - AZF - Cancer research

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Elsewhere in the region industries are small and in decline, in particular around the formerly mining areas of Alès and Carmaux in the interior of the region.

Related Topics:
Alès - Carmaux

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Services and Tourism

Services are the largest sector of the economy in the region. In particular, government services employ a significant part of the workforce, especially in small towns. Key administrations have been relocated to the region, such as France's National Meteorology Office (Météo-France) relocated from Paris to Toulouse in 1982.

Related Topics:
Météo-France - Paris - Toulouse

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The area is also a major tourist destination. There exists three types of tourism. First, a massive summer tourism industry on the coast, with huge sea resorts such as Cap d'Agde, Palavas-les-Flots, or Grau-du-Roi, built in the 1970s.

Related Topics:
Cap d'Agde - Palavas-les-Flots - Grau-du-Roi

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Then history and art tourism, with Carcassonne, Toulouse, Montpellier, countless Roman monuments (such as the Roman arenas in Nîmes), medieval abbeys, Romanesque churches, and old castles (such as the ruined Cathar castles in the mountains of Corbières, testimony of the bloody Albigensian Crusade).

Related Topics:
Carcassonne - Toulouse - Montpellier - Nîmes - Romanesque - Cathar - Corbières - Albigensian Crusade

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More recently, "green" and sports tourism is on the rise, with the gorges of the Tarn River (the most impressive canyon in Europe), as well as the vast preserved expanses of Cévennes, Ardèche, Lauragais, etc.

Related Topics:
Tarn River - Europe - Cévennes - Ardèche - Lauragais

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Toulouse and Montpellier are also popular places for business congresses and conventions.

Related Topics:
Toulouse - Montpellier

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