Toulouse

For other uses, see Toulouse (disambiguation).

Toulouse
Flag Coat of arms of Toulouse Coat of arms
Motto(s):  Per Tolosa totjorn mai. (Occitan for "For Toulouse, always more")
Location of Toulouse
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Haute-Garonne
Arrondissement	Toulouse
Canton	chief town of 15 cantons
Government
• Mayor (since 2008)	Pierre Cohen (PS)
Area 1	118.3 km2 (45.7 sq mi)
• Urban  (1999)	808 km2 (312 sq mi)
• Metro  (1999)	4,015 km2 (1,550 sq mi)
Population  (1 January 2006)	437,715
• Rank	4th in France
• Density	3,700/km2 (9,600/sq mi)
• Urban  (1 January 2006)	850,873
• Metro  (1 January 2006)	1,102,882
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	31555 /
Website	http://www.toulouse.fr/
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Toulouse (pronounced [tuluz] in standard French and [tuˈluzə] with a Toulouse accent; Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced [tuˈluzɔ], primarily Tholoza) is a city in southwest France on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km (366 mi) away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. With 1,102,882 inhabitants as of Jan.1 2006, the Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in France, after Paris (12 million), Lyon (1.8 million), Marseille (1.7 million).

Toulouse is one of the bases of the European aerospace industry, with the headquarters of Airbus, Galileo positioning system, the SPOT satellite system, and CNES's Toulouse Space Centre (CST), the largest space centre in Europe. Thales Alenia Space, Europe's largest satellite manufacturer, and Astrium Satellites, EADS's satellite system subsidiary, also have a significant presence in Toulouse. Its world renowned university is one of the oldest in Europe (founded in 1229) and, with more than 97,000 students, is with Lille the third-largest university campus of France after Paris and Lyon.

Toulouse was the capital of the former province of Languedoc (provinces were abolished during the French Revolution). It is now the Chef-lieu of the Midi-Pyrénées region, the largest region in metropolitan France. It is also the Chef-lieu of the Haute-Garonne department.

History

Main article: History of Toulouse

Toulouse is an old and ornate city in southern France with a long and rich history.

Historical Population
	Urban Area	Metropolitan Area
1695	43,000
1750	48,000
1790	52,863
1801	50,171
1831	59,630
1851	95,277
1872	126,936
1911	149,000
1936	213,220
1946	264,411
1954	268,865
1962	329,044
1968	439,764	474,000
1975	509,939	585,000
1982	541,271	645,000
1990	650,336	797,373
1999	761,090	964,797
2006	850,873	1,102,882
Note: figures provided by French national statistics office INSEE figures up to and including 1954 can be compared with each other, as the limits of the urban area did not change until 1954, being only the city of Toulouse; after 1954 the urban area starts to include suburban communes, and the limits vary year after year INSEE started calculating metropolitan area data only in 1990, a metropolitan area being different from an urban area in that it also includes satellite towns and the agricultural land in between, thus better reflecting the modern-day phenomenon of commutes and hubs; metropolitan area data before 1990 are only estimates

Demographics

The population of the city proper (French: commune) was 437,715 at the Jan. 1, 2006 census, with 1,102,882 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (French: aire urbaine) at the Jan. 1, 2006 census, up from 964,797 at the March 1999 census, which means a record 1.98% population growth per year between 1999 and 2006 for the metropolitan area.

Toulouse is the fourth largest city in France, after Paris, Marseille and Lyon, and the fifth-largest metropolitan area after Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille.

Fueled by booming aerospace and high-tech industries, population growth of 1.5% a year in the metropolitan area in the 1990s (compared with 0.37% for metropolitan France), and a record 1.98% a year in the 2000s (0.69% for metropolitan France), means the Toulouse metropolitan area hit the 1,000,000 inhabitants mark in 2000 or 2001. Boasting the highest population growth of any French metropolitan area larger than 500,000 inhabitants, Toulouse is on its way to overtake Lille as the fourth-largest metropolitan area of France (if the Belgian part of the Lille metropolitan area is not included), and Lyon as the third-largest city of France.

Geography

Climate

Toulouse has a temperate climate that is usually classified as oceanic (Cfb) under the Köppen climate classification, falling just short of a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) classification. Toulouse yes is located at the junction with the Mediterranean climate zone, but uniform precipitation prevents it from being classified this way.

Climate data for Toulouse
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	9.4 (48.9)	11.2 (52.2)	14.0 (57.2)	16.2 (61.2)	20.5 (68.9)	24.2 (75.6)	27.6 (81.7)	27.5 (81.5)	24.2 (75.6)	18.9 (66.0)	13.0 (55.4)	10.1 (50.2)	18.1 (64.6)
Daily mean °C (°F)	5.8 (42.4)	7.2 (45.0)	9.3 (48.7)	11.4 (52.5)	15.4 (59.7)	18.8 (65.8)	21.7 (71.1)	21.7 (71.1)	18.6 (65.5)	14.3 (57.7)	9.1 (48.4)	6.7 (44.1)	13.3 (55.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	2.2 (36.0)	3.2 (37.8)	4.5 (40.1)	6.5 (43.7)	10.3 (50.5)	13.3 (55.9)	15.7 (60.3)	15.9 (60.6)	12.9 (55.2)	9.6 (49.3)	5.2 (41.4)	3.3 (37.9)	8.6 (47.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	51.7 (2.04)	51.3 (2.02)	53.8 (2.12)	66.8 (2.63)	77.2 (3.04)	64.4 (2.54)	45.4 (1.79)	50.5 (1.99)	52.2 (2.06)	52.3 (2.06)	50.7 (2.00)	52.2 (2.06)	668.5 (26.32)
Average precipitation days	9.6	9	9.5	10.2	10.2	7.6	5.3	5.8	6.7	8	8.7	8.5	99.1
Mean monthly sunshine hours	104	119	182	184	217	207	245	238	195	138	96	84	2,009
Source 1: Météo France
Source 2: World Meteorological Organisation

Hydrography

The town is traversed by the Canal de Garonne, the Canal du Midi and the rivers Garonne, Touch.

Government and politics

Community of the Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse

Main article: Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse

The Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse (Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Toulouse) was created in 2001 to better coordinate transport, infrastructure and economic policies between the city of Toulouse and its immediate independent suburbs. It succeeds a previous district which had been created in 1992 with less powers than the current council. It combines the city of Toulouse and 24 independent communes, covering an area of 380 km² (147 sq. miles), totaling a population of 583,229 inhabitants (as of 1999 census), 67% of whom live in the city of Toulouse proper. As of February 2004 estimate, the total population of the Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse was 651,209 inhabitants, 65.5% of whom live in the city of Toulouse. Due to local political feuds, the Community of Agglomeration only hosts 61% of the population of the metropolitan area, the other independent suburbs having refused to join in. Since 2009, the Community of agglomeration has become an urban community (in French : communauté urbaine).

Local politics

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The fountain in "Wilson Square" shows the poet Pierre Goudouli

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Musée des Augustins

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The Capitole of Toulouse, and the square of the same name with the Occitan cross designed by Raymond Moretti on the ground

|} One of the major political figures in Toulouse was Dominique Baudis, the mayor of Toulouse between 1983 and 2001, member of the centrist UDF. First known as a journalist famous for his coverage of the war in Lebanon, 36 year-old Dominique Baudis succeeded his father Pierre Baudis in 1983 as mayor of Toulouse. (Pierre Baudis was mayor from 1971 to 1983.) The Baudis dynasty succeeded in turning Toulouse into a center-right stronghold, whereas historically the city had been left-leaning since the 19th century. Dominique Baudis is also known as a writer who wrote historical novels about the ancient counts of Toulouse, their crusade in the Middle East, and the Albigensian Crusade.

During his time as mayor, Toulouse's economy and population boomed. He tried to strengthen the international role of Toulouse (such as its Airbus operations), as well as revive the cultural heritage of the city. The Occitan cross, flag of Languedoc and symbol of the counts of Toulouse, was chosen as the new flag of the city, instead of the traditional coat of arms of Toulouse (which included the fleur de lis of the French monarchy). Many cultural institutions were created, in order to attract foreign expatriates and emphasise the city's past. For example, monuments dating from the time of the counts of Toulouse were restored, the city's symphonic concert hall (Halle aux Grains) was refurbished, a city theater was built, a Museum of Modern Art was founded, the Bemberg Foundation (European paintings and bronzes from the Renaissance to the 20th century) was established, a huge pop music concert venue (Zénith, the largest in France outside Paris) was built, the space museum and educational park Cité de l'Espace was founded, etc.

To deal with growth, major housing and transportation projects were launched. Perhaps the one for which Baudis is most famous is the Toulouse Metro: line A of the underground was opened in 1993, and Baudis succeeded in having work started on line B (which opened in 2007), despite strong local opposition to the anticipated costs. The creation of a system of underground car parking structures in Toulouse city centre was sharply criticised by the Green Party.

Despite all these massive undertakings, the city's economy proved so strong that Dominique Baudis was able to announce, in 1999, that the city had finished repaying its debt, making it the only large city in France ever to achieve solvency. In Europe, typical per capita city debt for a city the size of Toulouse is around 1,200 euros. Achieving solvency was a long-standing goal for Baudis, who had said that he would extinguish city debt before leaving office. Local opposition, however, has criticised this achievement, saying that the task of governments is not to run zero-deficit, but to ensure the well-being of citizens, through social benefits, housing programs for poor people, etc.

In 2000, Dominique Baudis was at the zenith of his popularity, with approval rates of 85%. He announced that he would not run for a fourth (6-year) term in 2001. He explained that with 3 terms he was already the longest-serving mayor of Toulouse since the French Revolution; he felt that change would be good for the city, and that the number of terms should be limited. He endorsed Philippe Douste-Blazy, then UDF mayor of Lourdes as his successor. Baudis has since been appointed president of the CSA (Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel) in Paris, the French equivalent of the American FCC.

Philippe Douste-Blazy narrowly won in the 2001 elections, which saw the left making its best showing in decades. Douste-Blazy had to deal with a reinvigorated political opposition, as well as with the dramatic explosion of the AZF plant in late 2001.

In March 2004 he entered the national government, and left Toulouse in the hands of his second-in-command Jean-Luc Moudenc, elected mayor by the municipal council. In March 2008, Moudenc was defeated by the Socialist Party's candidate Pierre Cohen.

Sights

Hôtel d'Assézat

Hôtel de Bagis, also called Hôtel de Pierre

The romanesque Saint-Sernin Basilica and its tower.

Notre-Dame de la Dalbade church (15th-16th century)

• Capitole de Toulouse (mainly 18th century), housing the Hôtel de Ville, the Théâtre du Capitole (opera house), and the Donjon du Capitole (16th century), located on the Place du Capitole.
• Banks of the Garonne (mainly 18th century)
• Bazacle
• Jardin des Plantes, Grand-Rond, Jardin Royal
• Pont Neuf (16th century)
• Hôpital de la Grave, featuring a copper dome of the 18th century
• Hôpital Saint-Raymond, 16th century hospital
• Hôtel-Dieu Saint Jacques, former 16th and 17th century hospital on the banks of the Garonne
• Château d'eau (19th century)
• Canal du Midi
• Many Hôtels particuliers (palaces), notably of the 16th century like the Hôtel d'Assézat, the Hôtel du Vieux-Raisin, the Hôtel de Bernuy and the Hôtel de Bagis.
• Saint-Pierre bridge, 19th century iron bridge
• Wilson Square
• Halle aux Grains (19th century)
• Gare de Toulouse Matabiau, railroad station
• Médiathèque José Cabanis
• Institut national des sciences appliquées

Museums

• Musée Georges Labit
• Musée des Augustins, the fine arts museum of the city housed in a former gothic convent.
• Les Abattoirs, museum of modern and contemporary art.
• Fondation Bemberg, art museum housed in the 16th century Hôtel d'Assézat.
• Musée Saint-Raymond, housed in the former 16th century Saint-Raymond hospital.
• Cité de l'espace (City of Space, a theme park of space exploration).

Religious buildings

• Saint-Sernin Basilica (the largest romanesque church in Europe) which contains what is widely considered the most beautiful pipe organ in France.
• Notre-Dame du Taur church, 14th century
• Church of the Jacobins and its cloister (burial place of Saint Thomas Aquinas)
• Saint-Étienne cathedral, 13th to 16th century
• Daurade basilica, 18th-19th century
• Ursulines tower
• Saint Nicolas church, gothic church
• Notre-Dame de de la Dalbade church, 15th-16th century
• Saint-Pierre des Cuisines church, 11th and 12th century with a 4th century crypt.
• Carmelite chapel, chapel with 17th and 18th century frescoes.
• former Augustine Convent and its gothic cloister, which now houses the Musée des Augustins.

Economy

The main Airbus factory in Blagnac, near Tolouse, lies next to Toulouse Airport

The main industries are aeronautics, space, electronics, information technology and biotechnology. Toulouse hosts the Airbus headquarters and assembly-lines of Airbus A320, A330, A340, and A380, the others (A318, A319, A321 and A380 interior furnishing) being in Hamburg, Germany. Airbus intends to relocate Toulouse A320 final assembly activity to Hamburg, with A350 and A380 production going in the opposite direction as part of its Power8 organization plan begun under ex-CEO Christian Streiff. Airbus has its head office in Blagnac, near Toulouse. Airbus's France division has its main office in Toulouse.

According to Newsweek, Toulouse ranked as the fifth most dynamic city in the world in 2006.

Colleges and universities

Toulouse has the third-largest student population in France after Lyon and Paris with 97,000 students.

The University of Toulouse (Université de Toulouse), established in 1229, is located here (now split into three separate universities). Like the universities in Oxford and Paris, the University of Toulouse was established at a time when Europeans were starting to translate the writings of Arabs of Andalus and Greek philosophers. These writings challenged European ideology - inspiring scientific discoveries and advances in the arts - as society began seeing itself in a new way. These colleges were supported by the Church, in hopes of reconciling Greek philosophy and Christian theology.

• Université Toulouse I, Toulouse School of Economics and Institut d'études politiques de Toulouse
• Université de Toulouse - Le Mirail (Toulouse II)
• Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III)

Toulouse is also the home of Toulouse Business School (ESC Toulouse) and several engineering schools :

• ICAM Toulouse
• INSA Toulouse
• ISAE SUPAERO
• ISAE ENSICA
• ENAC
• INP ENSEEIHT
• INP ENSIACET
• INP ENSAT
• EPITECH
• IPSA
• EIPurpan

The most well known high schools in Toulouse are Lycée Pierre de Fermat and Lycée Saint-Sernin.

Transport

In addition to an extensive bus system, the Toulouse Metro is a VAL (Véhicule Automatique Léger) metro system made up of driverless (automatic) rubber-tired trains. Line A runs for 12.5 km from Balma-Gramont in the north-east to Basso Cambo in the south-west. Line B, which opened in June 2007, serves 20 stations north to south and intersects line A at Jean Jaurès. Line T1 (December 2010), runs from Beauzelle to Toulouse passing through Blagnac. Line C has existed since line A was completed. It is not VAL but an urban railway line operated by SNCF. It connects to line A at Arènes. Similarly, Line D runs south from Toulouse Matabiau to Muret. All urban bus, metro and tram services are operated by Tisséo.

In 2007, a city-wide bicycle rental scheme called VélôToulouse was introduced, with bicycles available from automated stations for a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly subscription.

Airports include:

• Toulouse Blagnac, the principal local airport
• Toulouse Lasbordes

The main railway station, with regional and national services, is Toulouse-Matabiau.

Communications

Toulouse is the home of Bonhoure Radio Tower, a 61-metre high lattice tower used for FM and TV transmission. In 2001 a large (100 km) optical fiber (symmetric 360Gb/s) network named Infrastructure Métropolitaine de Télécommunications was deployed around the city and suburbs.

Culture

A typical "Pink City" street at sunset

16th century Hôtel Dahus

Toulouse, known as the Ville Rose ("Pink City") for its distinctive brick architecture , is host to a rich and diverse culture. It has a thriving scene of unusually beautiful graffiti, with the painter Tilt! and Miss Van at its forefront.

The Théâtre du Capitole is the home of opera and ballet; there has been a theatre on the site since 1736. The Orchestre National du Capitole, long associated with Michel Plasson, plays at the Halle aux Grains.

It is the seat of the Académie des Jeux Floraux, the equivalent of the French Academy for the Occitan-speaking regions of southern France, making Toulouse the unofficial capital of Occitan culture. The traditional Occitan cross was adopted as the symbol of both the City of Toulouse and the newly-founded Midi-Pyrénées région.

The city's gastronomic specialties include Saucisses de Toulouse, a type of herb sausage, cassoulet Toulousain, a bean and pork stew, and garbure, a cabbage soup with poultry. Also, foie gras, the liver of an overfed duck or goose, is a delicacy mainly made in the Midi-Pyrénées.

Sport

In sports, Toulouse boasts a highly respected rugby union team, Stade Toulousain, which has been a six-time finalist, four-time winner in Europe's top club competition in the sport, the Heineken Cup and 17 times French champions. Toulouse hosted games at the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

The city also has a professional football team Toulouse FC who play in ligue 1, the top level of football in France.

Toulouse Olympique represents the city in Rugby League, they play in the Co-operative Championship.

Toulouse players in a Championship match against Gateshead (June 2009).

The city also hosted games during the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the EuroBasket 1999.

Notable births and deaths in Toulouse

• Bernard Werber, writer
• Louis-Georges-Gustave de Caunes, journalist
• Jean de Coras (1515–1572), judge and humanist
• Lucas Puig, professional skateboarder
• Antony Rea, mixed martial artist
• Pierre de Fermat, lawyer and mathematician
• Carlos Gardel, (not confirmed) composer
• Christine Albanel, politician
• Philippe Mexès, footballer
• David Skrela, French rugby union player.
• Fabien Pelous, rugby player
• Frédéric Michalak, rugby player
• Patrice Carmouze, journalist
• Anne Munaretto, lacrosse player
• Jean-Louis Debré, politician
• Laetitia Barlerin, veterinarian
• Claude Nougaro, parolier, writer and singer, passionate about jazz and language
• Solène Jambaqué, hemiplegic skier, multi-medal winner at the 2006 Winter Paralympic Games in Turin
• Pierre Seel, persecuted homosexual during the Holocaust
• Marine Delterme, actress
• Laurent Wolf, DJ
• Gael Clichy, Fotballer

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Twin towns — Sister cities

Toulouse is twinned with:

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Bologna, Italy

Bristol, England, United Kingdom

Chongqing, China

Elche, Spain

Kiev, Ukraine

Tel Aviv, Israel

Rosario, Argentina

Toulouse also has accords of cooperation with the following towns:

Bydgoszcz, Poland

Düsseldorf, Germany

Hanoi, Vietnam

N'Djamena, Chad

Saint-Louis, Senegal

São José dos Campos, Brazil

Zaragoza, Spain

In addition, Toulouse has an adoption city:

Câmpia Turzii, Romania

See also

• 138 Tolosa, an asteroid
• Institut d'études politiques de Toulouse
• List of bishops of Toulouse
• Toulouse Geese
• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - famous artist born of nobility in Midi-Pyrénées région, but not born in the city of Toulouse

References

Bibliography

• Le Stang, Anne (2006). Histoire de Toulouse illustrée. Le périgrinateur. ISBN 2-910352-44-7. Template:Fr

External links

• Template:Fr icon Official Website of the City Hall of Toulouse
• Template:Fr icon Official Website of the Greater Toulouse Council
• Virtual Tour in Toulouse, with 360 °Fullscreen panoramas
• Toulouse Tourist Office
• Les Abattoirs Modern Arts
• Website of the Bemberg Foundation
• Website of the Saint Raymond Museum
• Toulouse-Blagnac International Airport
• Template:Wikitravel
• Template:Fr icon Wikitoulouse.fr Haisoft.fr, comprehensive wiki devoted to Toulouse.
• Template:Fr icon Culture in Toulouse
• Rainbow Toulouse
• English In Toulouse - Meeting for native speakers
• Chinese In Toulouse - Meeting for native speakers