Auvergne

Denomination

Auvergne is called, in language of oc, Auvernho. In Lozere (non-auvergnate historically, but auvergnate linguistically one says also " Alvèrnhe". the word remains female)

History

Administration

Geography

The administrative area Auvergne covers four departments, while historical Auvergne such as it was presented to the 18th century corresponds about to a zone covering the departments of the Cantal, of the Puy-de-Dôme, a small portion of the department of Haute-Loire as well as the south Allier. However the territory of the city of the Arvernes went to the doors of the current cities of Montlucon and Moulins. The city of the vellavis (current Velay) was customer of the Arvernes. The current area thus corresponds to very old historical realities.

The principal city of Auvergne east Clermont-Ferrand, whose urban Surface, with more than 400.000 inhabitants, gathers almost a third of the regional population. Clermont Ferrand would be liked from now on like the capital of the whole of the Massif Central. The idea of a fusion of the Auvergne areas and the Limousin was put forward besides by Valery Giscard d'Estaing before the regional elections of 2004 (idea which is regarded as being absurd by the inhabitants of the the Limousin). However, the influence of not very perceptible Clermont-Ferrand east in the east of the Haute-Loire where the economy is directed towards Saint-Etienne and the area the Rhone-Alps; while the south of the Solid mass-Exchange looks towards other metropolises.

Most of the area of Auvergne east covered by the Massif Central, solid mass Hercynien dating from the end of the primary era which is stretched on almost a sixth of the entire surface of the France. It is a high plate (Pénéplaine) intersected with deep valleys. A volcanic episode intervened with the tertiary and the quaternary one. The most recent Volcan S have less than 8000 years and form a unit called Chaîne of Puys. The north of the area (To combine) is a country of hills. The culminating point of Auvergne, 1886 m, is at the Puy de Sancy in the solid mass of the Monts Gilds.

Primarily mountainous area, Auvergne is of this fact to the variation of the historical axes of communication of France, such as the Rhone-native corridor or the Atlantique littoral. This enclavement persists today, in spite of the will posted by the institutions to promote the realization of infrastructures of communication beam and serving the area. Such a situation was not favorable to economic development and urban and the enclavement is one of the factors which contributed to the stagnation, even the demographic regression of the area. This is why it is identified as of the post-war period as being the central part of what is named “the Diagonale vacuum”.

Transport

The very advanced construction of the North-South and East-West highway axes (Highway S A71, A75, and A89), crossing in Clermont-Ferrand, allows a beginning of opening-up. In the same way the electrification and improvement of the line the SNCF Paris-Clermont-Fd, and the startup of the material “Téoz” in September 2003, makes it possible to put Clermont at three hours of Paris. The airport of Clermont-Aulnat accommodates the regional hub Air France. It is however damage that this opening-up is limited primarily to the valley Allier and that no LGV is envisaged in the short run. The improvement of the Clermont-Lyon line should make it possible Auvergne to profit from the advantages of the Gare of Share-God for the access to the LGV Med and the future lines the Rhine - the Rhone and Transalpine. The District council of Auvergne supports the project of Transversale the Alps Auvergne Atlantique carried by Altro association. Since January 1st, 2002, the area manages the regional service FOR THE THIRD TIME within the framework of a convention with the SNCF. The service roads of the suburbs of Clermont were packed appreciably (the rate being 15 minutes in the first crown).

Economy

Wedged, the area experienced an industrial development and economic only relatively limited, but including/understanding however certain elements of importance.

Industry

Auvergne is a relatively industrial area, since the share of industry in the active population accounts for there 20% (110 000 employment) against 18% for the national average.

Principal the Industrie auvergnate is the sector of the pneumatic , represented by Michelin, world leader of the sector, of which the head office and history is located at Clermont-Ferrand, by Kleber, and SUMITOMO-Dunlop, is established with Montlucon.

A diversified fabric of small industries: metallurgical (Auber and Duval), mechanics, pharmaceutical (MSD-Chibret), agro-alimentary (cereals, meat, cheeses, mineral water, etc) exists in the area, in particular in the Puy-de-Dôme and the Haute-Loire. One can quote the cutlery with Thiers, the metallurgy with Issoire, the lace factory in Puy and the breeding as well as the agro-alimentary one in the Cantal.

The agro-alimentary account 12.000 paid.

Tourism

Auvergne profits from sources abundant and rich in Rock salt, of which several are marketed. Most known of them is with Volvic, whose mark éponyme supports in particular its advertizing strategy on the geological inheritance of the area.

The thermal spa of Bourboule in the Puy-de-Dôme, created in 1875 following the discovery of thermal springs, was a tourist center of importance, in particular around 1900, when 10.000 curists came there each year. The frequentation is much weaker today. Vichy also developed around a thermal spring.

The country holidays develop in the area and in particular within the Regional natural park of the volcanos of Auvergne.

“Vulcania”, recreation park centered on the Volcano ism, is a new open tourist attraction in February 2002 and accommodates each year nearly 500.000 visitors.

Lastly, the area counts several ski stations alpine, whose principal ones are Super-Besse and Mount-Gilds It in the solid mass of Sancy, and Lioran on the Chantillian solid mass. But Auvergne also lays out of several fields dedicated to the Ski touring.

On the whole, the area counts more than 170.000 commercial tourist beds, mainly in camp-sites, hotels and furnished with tourism, and 410.000 beds in second home.

Each year, the area records approximately 10 to 11 million nights in commercial lodgings, 5 to 6 million nights in second home, and 10 to 12 million nights carried out in parents or friends.

These tourist customers in stay leave annually between 1,2 and 1,3 billion euros in the regional economy. Total tourist consumption ranges between 2,5 and 2,8 billion euros, representing more than 7% of the regional Gross domestic product.

Auvergne represents overall between 2.5 and 3% of market share in the national tourist activity and adds up between 12.000 and 25.000 employee jobs related to tourism according to the months, because of the strong seasonal variation.

Agriculture

With 41.000 employment, the Agriculture accounts for 8,5% of regional employment, the double of the national average.

In its mountainous part, Auvergne is especially an area of breeding directed towards the production Lait ière, cradle of the Race S Bovin be salers and aubrac. It is an important area for the production of Fromage S AOC with five specialities: Blue of Auvergne, Cantal Interval, Young Cantal, Fourme of Ambert, salers, Saint-Nectaire cheese. With: 50000 tons, it produces the quarter of the French production of cheeses AOC. One also manufactures on the territory of Auvergne of the Roquefort (cheese) and of the Bleu of the Causses.

It is also necessary to quote the production of lens S green of the Puy (name AOC) on the plates of the Velay in Haute-Loire.

In Combining it, it is rather a breeding directed towards the production of meat. Auvergne organizes each year in October the “top of the breeding” with Cournon-in Auvergne, first demonstration of this type in Europe.

The low parts, the department To combine it, the Limagne, practice the field crops: cereals (corn, barley, corn), oilseeds (colza, sunflower) and sugar beets. It is besides in Clermont Ferrand, that the French factory of the southernmost beet transformation is located.

To note, in north To combine it, the Forêt of Tronçais (10 400 ha), who is also a tourist curiosity. Mature standing timber of Oak S, created at the time of Colbert for the needs for the marine , which provides today, in particular, the Bois used for the manufacture of the barrels of the great wines.

Lastly, the town of Caps, close to Clermont-Ferrand, accommodates the head office of the larger fourth world Semencier: Limagrain. This company has a network of research made up of 50 stations of selection, seven laboratories of Biotechnologie and three research laboratories on the ingredients, which in fact, with the INRA and MICHELIN, one of the principal poles of research of the area, with expenditure of Research and development of 60 million euros per annum.

Demography

Culture

Three cultural areas: " Auvergne" , Bourbonnais and Velay

Administrative Auvergne gathers heterogeneous territories on the cultural level. It is mainly in zone occitane, and that for a little more than three departments and half on four.

The administrative area " Auvergne" is composed of three historical and cultural areas:

Auvergne itself. The departments of the Cantal and the Puy-de-Dôme, like Brioude and the Brivadois in Haute-Loire represent today best the culture auvergnate, and where the important components that are the language, the culinary tradition and the music are alive.
the Velay, which occupies large department of the Haute-Loire (except Brioude and Brivadois), has a distinct history and a marked personality. It is not tradition auvergnate, even if it belongs to the same cultural unit occitan as historical Auvergne.
the Bourbonnais, which coincides with the Département Allier, is divided between the occitan in the South (Vichy, Montlucon) and French (language of oil) in North (Mills).

Languages

There are two languages autochtones in the Auvergne area:

the Langue of oc speaks itself in almost all the area, in general in the form of the auvergnat (or in the form of the Vivaro-alpine towards Yssingeaux.
the French or Language of oil , in a dialectal form, speaks itself in the northern half of Bourbonnais (department Allier), towards Moulins.

If the northern half of the Bourbonnais (Allier) is of language of oil, it should be specified that the southern half of Bourbonnais, towards Montlucon and Vichy, is of language of oc. The term of bourbonnais is ambiguous: it can indicate as well the speeches occitans as the French speeches of Bourbonnais.

According to a survey of 2006, the denomination most answered for one or the other of the two languages is the term patois (78% of the population) at the side more regionalized terms (auvergnat, bourbonnais, vellave). Nevertheless, a certain conscience of the cultural identities emerges through denominations such as bourbonnais (5%) and of oc] (12%).

The regional language, that it is of oil or of oc represents a strong reality of the area:

61% states to understand more or less well their regional language of which 22% easily or perfectly
42% state knowledge to speak it more or less well whose 12% easily
29% declares more or less well the lira of which 10% rather easily
17% state to write it more or less well including 4% easily.

The transmission of the language is done essentially in family setting (grandparents to 61%, or entourage with 50%) with a very weak share by the institutionalized network which is the school (10%). Here the difficulty of the role of the State in this one arises since 40% of people who did not learn the language with their children now regret having done it. This regret is even stronger at the rising generations (58% at less than 35 years). Moreover the wish to learn is very present. It is strongest at less than 35 years (23%). The desire to see the language being proposed at the school is strongest in the following departments: Haute-Loire (53%), Puy-de-Dôme (51%) and Cantal (74%). The wish that his/her own children learn the language is very strong (41%) and is reinforced at the young generations (58% at less than 35 years). 71% of the inhabitants of the area are declared favorable to the maintenance and the development of the language and the culture regional, still more at less than 35 years (76%). With this intention, they wish to see various institutions playing their part:

France 3 Auvergne should propose emissions in regional language with 54%
the area (54%), State education (43%), the ministry for the culture (42%) and the communes are seen by the inhabitants of Auvergne as being the actors legitimately in having to transmit and develop their language and their culture.

Sources:

Enquête of IFOP on behalf of the section auvergnate of the Institute of studies occitanes, 2006.
BONIN Marcel (1984) general Dictionnaire of the patois bourbonnais, Moulins: impr. Pottier
BONNAUD Pierre (1992 not indicated) general Grammar of the auvergnat to the use of the arvernisants, coll Eubransa/Work, Chamalières: Ring Ground of Auvergne
BONNAUD Pierre (1999) Nouveau general dictionary French-auvergnat, 63340 Little nun: Créer
CHAMBON Jean-Pierre, & OLIVIER Philippe (2000) “linguistic history of Auvergne and Velay: notes for a provisional synthesis”, Work of linguistics and philology 38:83 - 153
DAHMEN Wolfgang (1985) Study of the dialectal situation in the Center of France: a talk based on the `Linguistic atlas and ethnographic of the Center', Paris: CNRS
ESCOFFIER Simone (1958) the meeting of the language of oil, the language of oc and the Franco-Provençal between the Loire and Allier: phonetic and morphological limits, coll Publications of the Institute of Romance Linguistics of Lyon-flight. 11, Paris: Beautiful Lettres
ESCOFFIER Simone (1958) Remarks on the lexicon of a marginal zone to the borders of the language of oil, language of oc and francoprovençal, coll Publications of the Institute of Romance Linguistics of Lyon-flight. 12, Paris: Beautiful Lettres
PÉROUX-BEAULATON Louis (1940) popular speeches in the Center of France: country of Combrailles, vicinities of Berry, the Limousin and Auvergne , Sn.: Montlucon ED. sd., towards 1907
REICHEL Karl-Heinz (sd. 2005) general Dictionary auvergnat-French, 63340 Little nun: ED. Créer
RONJAT Jules (1930-1941), istoric Grammar of the modern provençaux speeches, 4 vol. 1980, Marseilles: Laffitte Reprints, 2 vol.
ROUX Jean (2002) Auvergnat of pocket, coll Languages of pocket, the Chennevières-on-Marne: Assimil

Music

Auvergne is known for its musical culture, in particular on the level of the music to be danced. Given to the last style in the Years 1970, at the time of vagueness Folk, the music of oral tradition was collected and put on audio tape.