Picardy

- Total January 1, 2011 - Density

1,918,155 inhabitants 98.9 inhabitants per km ²

- Total - Share in France:

19,399 km ² 3.1%

The Picardy [ pikaʀdi ] is a region and historical province in northern France. It consists of the departments of Aisne, Oise and Somme. The region has an area of ​​19,399 km ² and 1,918,155 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011). Capital city is Amiens.

Geography

The Picardie is located in northern France, from Paris in about an hour by car. There are good transport links ( road, rail, air, channel tunnel or ferry) in the European cities (eg London 2.5 hours Brussels 1.5 hours).

It borders the regions of Nord-Pas -de- Calais, Champagne- Ardenne Ile- de -France and Haute -Normandie, as well as Belgium and the Atlantic Ocean.

Coat of arms

Description: In the blue-silver gevierten Crest are three golden lilies and three red lions.

History

The Picardy, which belonged since the division of the Frankish empire to western France and then to France, was the center of the peasant uprising, the " ( Grande) jacquerie " middle of the 14th century and fell off during the Hundred Years War in France against England and the House of Burgundy 1419 or 1435 in Burgundy. Only with the Burgundian division it fell in 1477 and finally in 1493 along with Burgundy France.

With the establishment of the Regions in France in 1960, the Picardie region had been rebuilt in its current borders. In 1972, the region was granted the status of a Établissements public under the direction of a regional prefect.

Due to the decentralization laws of 1982, the regions were given the status of Collectivités territorial ( regional ) as him until then only the municipalities and the department had possessed. In 1986, the regional councils were directly elected for the first time. Since then, the powers of the region against the central government in Paris was gradually extended.

Cities

The most densely populated cities in the Picardie are:

Political Structure

The Picardie region is divided into three departments:

Economy

Expressed in comparison with the GDP of the European Union in purchasing power standards reached the region in 2006 an index of 86.3 (EU-27 = 100).

The working age population includes 744,000 people. The unemployment rate of 11.5 % is slightly above the national average of 10.6 %. In Picardy, 9.2% of those employed in agriculture, 40.7 % in industry and 50.1 % in the service sector are active. The average income in Picardy is 89 % of the national average, so it is one of the four poorest regions of France. The proportion of employees with graduate degree from the Picardy population is 10.6 % below the national average of 14.2%.

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