Allier

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Allier
Image:Blason03.PNG
The Allier coat of arms
Location

Administration
Département number:	03
Région:	Auvergne
Préfecture:	Moulins
Sub-Préfectures:	Montluçon Vichy
Arrondissements:	3
Cantons:	35
Communes:	320
Conseiller Général:	Gérard Dériot
Statistics
Population	Ranked 63rd
-1999	344,721
Population density:	47/km²
Land area¹:	7340 km²

¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km².
Image:Flag of France.svg

For other uses, see Allier (disambiguation).

Allier (Occitan: Alèir) is a département in south-central France named after the Allier River.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Economy
4 Demographics
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

Allier was one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Auvergne and Bourbonnais.

In 1940, the government of Marshal Philippe Pétain chose the town of Vichy as its capital.

[edit] Geography

The département belongs to the région Auvergne and is surrounded by the following French départements: Cher, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, and Creuse.

The following rivers run through Allier:

See also: List of the communes of the Allier département.

[edit] Economy

Allier is the most productive agricultural area of the Auvergne. Vichy has long been known for its water, which is exported throughout the world.

[edit] Demographics

Montluçon, Vichy, and Moulins are the principal cities. The rest of the département consists of smaller towns, mostly along the rivers. In general, the département is sparsely populated. The population increased until the end of the 19th century because of the growth of industry in Montluçon and Moulins and development of the thermal resources at Vichy. At that time the département had over 420,000 inhabitants. After the losses of World War I, the population stagnated, with a small increase in the 1960s. Since then, it has decreased slightly from 386,533 in 1968 to 344,721 in 1999.