Charente - Definition and Overview

Charente
Details
Information
Number	16
Region	Poitou-Charentes
Prefecture	Angoulême
Subprefectures	Cognac Confolens
Population  - Total (1999)  - Density	Ranked 66th 339,628 57 /km²
Area	5,956 km²
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	35
Communes	404
President of the general council
Location

Charente is a département in central France named after the Charente River.

History

Charente was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the former province of Angoumois.

Geography

The department is part of the current region of Poitou-Charentes. It is surrounded by the departments of Vienne, Haute-Vienne, Dordogne, Gironde, Charente-Maritime, and Deux-Sèvres. It contains part of the geographical regions of Poitou and Limousin.

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called Charentais.

Economy

Cognac and pineau are two of the major agricultural products.

Miscellaneous topics

List of the communes of the Charente département

External links

• Prefecture website (http://www.charente.pref/gouv/fr/) (in French)
• Conseil Général website (http://www.cg16.fr/) (in French)
• http://www.lacharente.com/index.php

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