Vaucluse

Department in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

For other uses, see Vaucluse (disambiguation).

Department in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Vaucluse

Vauclusa (Occitan)

Department

From top down, left to right: prefecture building and Palais des Papes in Avignon, Gordes (considered one of the most beautiful villages of France), Sénanque Abbey, Sorgue River and Nesque River

Flag

Coat of arms

Location of Vaucluse in France

Coordinates: 44°00′N 05°10′E﻿ / ﻿44.000°N 5.167°E﻿ / 44.000; 5.167
Country| France
Region| Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Prefecture| Avignon
Subprefectures| Apt
Carpentras
Government

• President of the Departmental Council| Dominique Santoni (LR)
Area

• Total

| 3,567 km2 (1,377 sq mi)
Population

(2022)[1]

• Total

| 568,702
• Rank| 47th
• Density| 160/km2 (410/sq mi)
Time zone| UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)| UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number| 84
Arrondissements| 3
Cantons| 17
Communes| 151
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2 (0.39 sq mi)

Vaucluse (French: [voklyz]; Provençal: Vauclusa (Classical norm) or Vau-Cluso (Mistralian norm)) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.[2] The department's prefecture is Avignon.

It is named after a spring, the Fontaine de Vaucluse, one of the largest karst springs in the world. The name Vaucluse itself derives from the Latin Vallis Clausa ("closed valley") as the valley ends in a cliff face from which the spring emanates.

## History

[edit]

Vaucluse was created on 12 August 1793 out of parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme and Basses-Alpes, later renamed Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The then rural department was, like the nearby city of Lyon, a hotbed of the French Resistance in World War II.

## Geography

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Vaucluse is bordered by the Rhône to the west and the Durance to the south. Mountains occupy a significant proportion of the eastern half of the department, with Mont Ventoux (1,912 m), also known as "the Giant of Provence", dominating the landscape. Other important mountain ranges include the Dentelles de Montmirail, the Monts de Vaucluse and the Luberon.

The northern part of the department, the Canton of Valréas, forms an enclave within the department Drôme.

Fruit and vegetables are cultivated in great quantities in the lower-lying parts of the department, on one of the most fertile plains in Southern France. The Vaucluse department has a rather large exclave within the Drôme department, the canton of Valréas (Enclave des Papes).

Vaucluse is also known for its karst, including the karst spring Fontaine de Vaucluse after which "Vauclusian Risings" are named.

The Fontaine de Vaucluse is the source of the Sorgue. It is characterised by an upward movement of water from the depth of over 315 metres (1,033 ft).

### Principal towns

[edit]

The most populous commune is Avignon, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are six communes with more than 20,000 inhabitants:[2]

Commune  | Population (2019)

|

Avignon | 91,143
Carpentras | 29,236
Orange | 28,772
Cavaillon | 26,236
Pertuis | 20,557
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue | 20,042

## Demographics

[edit]

Population development since 1801:

Historical population| Year| Pop.| ±% p.a.

|
|

1801| 191,421| —
1806| 205,833| +1.46%
1821| 224,431| +0.58%
1831| 239,113| +0.64%
1841| 251,080| +0.49%
1851| 264,618| +0.53%
1861| 268,255| +0.14%
1872| 263,451| −0.16%
1881| 244,149| −0.84%
1891| 235,411| −0.36%
1901| 236,949| +0.07%
1911| 238,656| +0.07%
1921| 219,602| −0.83%
1931| 241,689| +0.96%
| Year| Pop.| ±% p.a.

|
|

1936| 245,508| +0.31%
1946| 249,838| +0.17%
1954| 268,318| +0.90%
1962| 303,536| +1.55%
1968| 353,966| +2.59%
1975| 390,446| +1.41%
1982| 427,343| +1.30%
1990| 467,075| +1.12%
1999| 499,685| +0.75%
2006| 534,291| +0.96%
2011| 546,630| +0.46%
2016| 559,014| +0.45%
2019| 561,469| +0.15%
2020| 561,941| +0.08%

This graph was using the legacy Graph extension, which is no longer supported. It needs to be converted to the new Chart extension.

|

Sources:[3][4]

## Politics

[edit]

### Departmental Council

[edit]

Main article: Departmental Council of Vaucluse

Departmental Council of Vaucluse

Composition since the 2021 election

Following the 2021 departmental election, Dominique Santoni of The Republicans was elected President of the Departmental Council. She succeeded Maurice Chabert, who had held the office since 2015.

The Departmental Council of Vaucluse has 34 seats. The Left Front (FG) currently has 2 seats, the Socialist Party (PS) has 7, Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV) has 3, the miscellaneous right (DVD) has 2, The Republicans (LR) have 10, the National Rally has 6 and a local party, the Ligue du Sud (LS), has 4.

Parts of this article (those related to the composition of the departmental council) need to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (July 2022)

|

### Members of the National Assembly

[edit]

#### 2022 legislative election

[edit]

In the 2022 legislative election, Vaucluse elected the following representatives to the National Assembly:

Constituency | Member | Party

|
|

| Vaucluse's 1st constituency | Joris Hébrard | National Rally
| Vaucluse's 2nd constituency | Bénédicte Auzanot | National Rally
| Vaucluse's 3rd constituency | Hervé de Lépinau | National Rally
| Vaucluse's 4th constituency | Marie-France Lorho | Ligue du Sud
| Vaucluse's 5th constituency | Jean-François Lovisolo | Renaissance

#### 2017 legislative election

[edit]

During the 2017 legislative election, Vaucluse elected the following representatives to the National Assembly:[5]

Constituency | Member | Party

|
|

| Vaucluse's 1st constituency | Jean-François Cesarini | La République En Marche!
| Vaucluse's 2nd constituency | Jean-Claude Bouchet | The Republicans
| Vaucluse's 3rd constituency | Brune Poirson | La République En Marche!
| Vaucluse's 4th constituency | Jacques Bompard | League of the South
| Vaucluse's 5th constituency | Julien Aubert | The Republicans

*On 21 July 2017, Brune Poirson resigned from office to join the Second Philippe government as Secretary of State to the Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition. She was replaced in the National Assembly by Adrien Morenas.

**Jacques Bompard resigned in August 2017 to become Mayor of Orange. He was replaced by Marie-France Lorho.

## Tourism

[edit]

* Pont Saint-Bénezet in Avignon

* Brantes

* Triumphal Arch of Orange

* Dentelles de Montmirail

## See also

[edit]

* Arrondissements of the Vaucluse department
* Cantons of the Vaucluse department
* Communes of the Vaucluse department

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Populations de référence 2022" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.
2. ^ a b Populations légales 2019: 84 Vaucluse, INSEE
3. ^ "Historique de Vaucluse". Le SPLAF.
4. ^ "Évolution et structure de la population en 2016". INSEE.
5. ^ List of members for Vaucluse (in French), on www.nosdeputes.fr.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vaucluse.

* Website of the Departmental Council (in French) (Archived 2018-09-06 at the Wayback Machine)
* Prefecture website (in French)

* v
* t
* e

Departments of France

Metropolitan|

* 01 Ain
* 02 Aisne
* 03 Allier
* 04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
* 05 Hautes-Alpes
* 06 Alpes-Maritimes
* 07 Ardèche
* 08 Ardennes
* 09 Ariège
* 10 Aube
* 11 Aude
* 12 Aveyron
* 13 Bouches-du-Rhône
* 14 Calvados
* 15 Cantal
* 16 Charente
* 17 Charente-Maritime
* 18 Cher
* 19 Corrèze
* 2A Corse-du-Sud
* 2B Haute-Corse
* 21 Côte-d'Or
* 22 Côtes-d'Armor
* 23 Creuse
* 24 Dordogne
* 25 Doubs
* 26 Drôme
* 27 Eure
* 28 Eure-et-Loir
* 29 Finistère
* 30 Gard
* 31 Haute-Garonne
* 32 Gers
* 33 Gironde
* 34 Hérault
* 35 Ille-et-Vilaine
* 36 Indre
* 37 Indre-et-Loire
* 38 Isère
* 39 Jura
* 40 Landes
* 41 Loir-et-Cher
* 42 Loire
* 43 Haute-Loire
* 44 Loire-Atlantique
* 45 Loiret
* 46 Lot
* 47 Lot-et-Garonne
* 48 Lozère
* 49 Maine-et-Loire
* 50 Manche
* 51 Marne
* 52 Haute-Marne
* 53 Mayenne
* 54 Meurthe-et-Moselle
* 55 Meuse
* 56 Morbihan
* 57 Moselle
* 58 Nièvre
* 59 Nord
* 60 Oise
* 61 Orne
* 62 Pas-de-Calais
* 63 Puy-de-Dôme
* 64 Pyrénées-Atlantiques
* 65 Hautes-Pyrénées
* 66 Pyrénées-Orientales
* 67 Bas-Rhin
* 68 Haut-Rhin
* 69D Rhône
* 70 Haute-Saône
* 71 Saône-et-Loire
* 72 Sarthe
* 73 Savoie
* 74 Haute-Savoie
* 76 Seine-Maritime
* 77 Seine-et-Marne
* 78 Yvelines
* 79 Deux-Sèvres
* 80 Somme
* 81 Tarn
* 82 Tarn-et-Garonne
* 83 Var
* 84 Vaucluse
* 85 Vendée
* 86 Vienne
* 87 Haute-Vienne
* 88 Vosges
* 89 Yonne
* 90 Territoire de Belfort
* 91 Essonne
* 92 Hauts-de-Seine
* 93 Seine-Saint-Denis
* 94 Val-de-Marne
* 95 Val-d'Oise

Overseas|

* 971 Guadeloupe
* 972 Martinique (territorial collectivity)
* 973 French Guiana (territorial collectivity)
* 974 Réunion
* 976 Mayotte

Special|

* 69M Lyon (collectivity with special status)
* 75 Paris (collectivity with special status)

Former|

* 975 Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Overseas collectivity)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Israel

Geographic|

* MusicBrainz area

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

*[Pop.]: Population
*[±% p.a.]: Per annum growth rate
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template