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91-465: Administratively, it lies within the department of Bouches-du-Rhône (‘Mouths of the Rhône’); it spans portions of the communes of Arles, Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône . A further expanse of marshy plain, known as the "Petite Camargue" (Little Camargue), just to the west of the "Petit Rhône", lies within the department of Gard . The Camargue was designated a Ramsar site as

182-463: A county of the United States . At the 2001 census, the median population of a department in continental France was 511,000 inhabitants, which is 21 times the median population of a United States county, but less than two-thirds of the median population of a ceremonial county of England and Wales. Most of the departments have an area of between 4,000 and 8,000 km (1500 to 3000 sq. mi.), and

273-580: A manade , or free-running herd. They are periodically rounded up for culling, medical treatment, or other events. Few towns of any size have developed in the Camargue. Arles has been called its "capital", located at the extreme north of the delta where the Rhône forks into its two principal branches. The only other towns of note are along the seafront or near it: Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer , which has also been dubbed its "capital", about 45 km (28 mi) to

364-419: A " Wetland of International Importance" on 1 December 1986. The Petite Camargue received this designation on 8 January 1996. With an area of over 930 km (360 sq mi), the Camargue is one of western Europe's largest river deltas. It is a vast plain comprising large brine lagoons or étangs , cut off from the sea by sandbars and encircled by reed -covered marshes. These are in turn surrounded by

455-452: A bust of Julius Caesar might have been thrown away or discreetly disposed of, because Caesar's portraits could have been viewed as politically dangerous possessions after the dictator's assassination. Historians and archaeologists not affiliated with the French administration, among them Paul Zanker, the renowned archaeologist and expert on Caesar and Augustus , were quick to question whether

546-601: A capacity of just over 17,000. A well known photography festival, Rencontres d'Arles , takes place in Arles every year, and the French national school of photography is located there. The major French publishing house Actes Sud is also situated in Arles. In the past years, several cultural organizations have set up a presence in Arles, such as the LUMA Foundation , the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles ,

637-603: A fraction of what it had been in Roman times, with much of old Arles lying in ruins. The town regained political and economic prominence in the 12th century, with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa traveling there in 1178 for his coronation. In the 12th century, it became a free city governed by an elected podestat (chief magistrate; literally "power"), who appointed the consuls and other magistrates. It retained this status until

728-539: A large cultivated area. Approximately a third of the Camargue is either lakes or marshland. The central area around the shoreline of the Étang de Vaccarès has been protected as a regional park since 1927, in recognition of its great importance as a haven for wild birds. In 2008, it was incorporated into the larger Parc naturel régional de Camargue . The Camargue is home to more than 400 species of birds and has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International . Its brine ponds provide one of

819-506: A major port on the Rhône. In the 19th century, the establishment of railways diminished river trade, leading to the city declining in prominence. This made it a destination for the painter Vincent van Gogh, who arrived there on 21 February 1888. He was fascinated by the Provençal landscapes, producing over 300 paintings and drawings during his time in Arles. Many of his most famous paintings were completed there, including The Night Cafe ,

910-500: A more uniform division into departments ( département ) and districts in late 1789. The process began on 4 August 1789 with the elimination of provincial privileges, and a 22 December 1789 decree (with letters patent in January 1790) provided for the termination of the provincial governments. The modern department system, as all-purpose units of the government, was decreed on 26 February 1790 (with letters patent on 4 March 1790) by

1001-513: A population between 320,000 and 1 million. The largest in area is Gironde (10,000 km (3,900 sq mi).), while the smallest is the city of Paris (105 km (41 sq mi).). The most populous is Nord (2,550,000) and the least populous is Lozère (74,000). The departments are numbered: their two-digit numbers appear in postal codes , in INSEE codes (including "social security numbers") and on vehicle number plates . Initially

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1092-489: A regional park and nature reserve in 1970, the Parc naturel régional de Camargue covers 820 km (320 sq mi). This territory is some of the most natural and most protected in all of Europe. A roadside museum provides background on flora, fauna, as well as the history of the area. Humans have lived in the Camargue for millennia, greatly affecting it with drainage schemes, dykes , rice paddies and salt pans . Much of

1183-399: A three-digit number. The number is used, for example, in the postal code and was until recently used for all vehicle registration plates . Residents commonly use the numbers to refer to their own department or a neighbouring one, for example inhabitants of Loiret may refer to their department as "the 45". More distant departments are generally referred to by their names, as few people know

1274-882: Is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region , in the former province of Provence . A large part of the Camargue , the largest wetlands in France, is located within the territory of the commune, which is the largest in Metropolitan France in terms of geographic territory. In non-metropolitan France, Maripasoula in French Guiana

1365-533: Is commonly associated, though not all are officially recognised or used. Unlike the rest of the French possessions in Africa , Algeria was divided into departments just like Corsica or Normandy from 1848 until its independence in 1962. These departments were supposed to be "assimilated" or "integrated" to France sometime in the future. There are a number of former departments in territories conquered by France during

1456-411: Is known as the prefecture ( préfecture ) or chef-lieu de département and is generally a town of some importance roughly at the geographical centre of the department. This was determined according to the time taken to travel on horseback from the periphery of the department. The goal was for the prefecture to be accessible on horseback from any town in the department within 24 hours. The prefecture

1547-562: Is not necessarily the largest city in the department: for instance, in Saône-et-Loire department the capital is Mâcon , but the largest city is Chalon-sur-Saône . Departments may be divided into arrondissements . The capital of an arrondissement is called a subprefecture ( sous-préfecture ) or chef-lieu d'arrondissement . Each department is administered by a departmental council ( conseil départemental ), an assembly elected for six years by universal suffrage , with

1638-430: Is served by a number of airports in the region, most notably the major international airport of Marseille Provence approximately an hour's drive away. The A54 autoroute toll motorway, which locally connects Salon-de-Provence with Nîmes and in a wider sense forms part of European route E80 , passes by Arles. The Rhône , which for navigation purposes is classified as a Class V waterway as far upstream as Lyon ,

1729-458: Is the largest French commune in general. The commune's land area is roughly similar to that of Singapore . The city has a long history, and was of considerable importance in the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis . The Roman and Romanesque Monuments of Arles were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1981 for their testimony to the history of the region. The city is famous for being

1820-654: The Ponts et Chaussées (Bridges and Highways) infrastructure administration. Before the French Revolution , France gained territory gradually through the annexation of a mosaic of independent entities. By the end of the Ancien Régime it was organised into provinces . During the Revolution they were dissolved, partly in order to weaken old loyalties. The National Constituent Assembly decided to create

1911-693: The Yellow Room , Starry Night Over the Rhone , and L'Arlésienne . Paul Gauguin visited van Gogh in Arles. However, van Gogh's mental health deteriorated and he became alarmingly eccentric, culminating in the ear-severing incident in December 1888 which resulted in two stays in the Old Hospital of Arles . The concerned Arlesians circulated a petition the following February demanding that van Gogh be confined. In May 1889, he voluntarily left Arles for

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2002-618: The 1823 French intervention ending the trienio liberal ) and the 1833 territorial division of Spain , which forms the basis of the present day Provinces of Spain with minor modifications, are also based on the French model of departments of roughly equal size. Most French departments are assigned a two-digit number, the Official Geographical Code, allocated by the Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques ( Insée ). Overseas departments have

2093-1076: The Burgundians to turn over the Arelate to Burgundy, he was exiled for a year to Bordeaux in Aquitaine. Political tensions were evident again in 512, when Arles held out against Theodoric the Great . Caesarius was imprisoned and sent to Ravenna to explain his actions before the Ostrogothic king. The friction between the Arian Christianity of the Visigoths and the Catholicism of the bishops sent out from Rome established deep roots for religious heterodoxy , even heresy , in Occitan culture. At Treves in 385, Priscillian achieved

2184-799: The French Revolution and Napoleonic Empire that are now not part of France: Dutch Republic : Holy Roman Empire : Dutch Republic : Holy Roman Empire : Dutch Republic : Holy Roman Empire : Holy Roman Empire : Electorate of the Palatinate Electorate of the Palatinate Kingdom of Prussia : Imperial Free City of Wesel (after 1805) Notes for Table 7: Arles Arles ( / ɑːr l ( z )/ ARL(Z) , US also / ˈ ɑːr əl / AR -əl , French: [aʁl] ; Provençal : Arle [ˈaʀle] in both classical and Mistralian norms ; Classical Latin : Arelate )

2275-583: The French Revolution of 1789. Arles joined the countship of Provence in 1239, but, once more, its prominence was eclipsed by Marseilles. In 1378, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV made the Dauphin of France (later King Charles VI of France ) vicar of the moribund Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles for his lifetime. The kingdom ceased to have any political existence soon afterwards. Arles remained economically important for many years as

2366-474: The ISO 3166-2 country subdivision codes for the metropolitan departments. The overseas departments have three digits. Originally, the relationship between the departments and the central government was left somewhat ambiguous. While citizens in each department elected their own officials, the local governments were subordinated to the central government, becoming instruments of national integration. By 1793, however,

2457-572: The Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation or the Lee Ufan Foundation. On top of that, there are countless galleries scattered throughout the city. Bullfights are conducted in the amphitheatre , including Provençal-style bullfights ( courses camarguaises ) in which the bull is not killed, but rather a team of athletic men attempt to remove a tassle from the bull's horn without getting injured. Every Easter and on

2548-604: The Muslim Arabs after destroying Avignon. In 739. Charles definitely drove Maurontus to exile, and brought Provence to heel. Louis the Pious, in 829, placed Arles under royal protection and assigned it with special privileges. In 855, it was made the capital of a Frankish Kingdom of Burgundy , which included Burgundy and part of Provence, but was frequently terrorised by Saracen and Viking raiders. In 888, Rudolph, Count of Auxerre (now in north-western Burgundy), founded

2639-597: The National Constituent Assembly . Their boundaries served two purposes: The old nomenclature was carefully avoided in naming the new departments. Most were named after an area's principal river or other physical features. Even Paris was in the department of Seine . Savoy , during its temporary occupation, became the department of Mont-Blanc . The provinces continued to exist administratively until 21 September 1791. The number of departments, initially 83, had been increased to 130 by 1809 with

2730-661: The President of the Departmental Council as executive of the department. Before 1982, the chief executive of the department was the prefect ( préfet ), who represents the Government of France in each department and is appointed by the President of the French Republic . The prefect is assisted by one or more sub-prefects ( sous-préfet ) based in the subprefectures of the department. Since 1982,

2821-567: The Rhône near Arles, together with smaller statues of Marsyas in Hellenistic style and of the god Neptune from the third century AD. The larger bust was tentatively dated to 46 BC. Since the bust displayed several characteristics of an ageing person with wrinkles, deep naso-labial creases and hollows in his face, and since the archaeologists believed that Julius Caesar had founded the colony Colonia Iulia Paterna Arelate Sextanorum in 46 BC,

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2912-536: The Saint-Paul asylum at nearby Saint-Rémy-de-Provence . Arles had an important and prominent Jewish community between the Roman era and the end of the 15th century. A local legend describes the first Jews in Arles as exiles from Judaea after Jerusalem fell to the Romans. Nevertheless, the first documented evidence of Jews in Arles is not before the fifth century, when a distinguished community already existed in

3003-586: The Territoire de Belfort ; the remaining parts of Meurthe and Moselle were merged into a new Meurthe-et-Moselle department. When France regained the ceded departments after World War I , the Territoire de Belfort was not reintegrated into Haut-Rhin. In 1922 it became France's 90th department. Likewise the Lorraine departments were not changed back to their original boundaries, and a new Moselle department

3094-619: The UMP , said in December 2008 that the fusion of the departments with the regions was a matter to be dealt with soon. This was soon refuted by Édouard Balladur and Gérard Longuet , members of the committee for the reform of local authorities, known as the Balladur Committee. In January 2008, the Attali Commission recommended that the departmental level of government should be eliminated within ten years. Nevertheless,

3185-411: The administrative regions and the communes . There are ninety-six departments in metropolitan France , with an additional five overseas departments , which are also classified as overseas regions. Departments are further subdivided into 333 arrondissements and 2,054 cantons (as of 2023). These last two levels of government have no political autonomy, instead serving as the administrative basis for

3276-408: The mistral , a cold wind which can cause sudden and severe frosts. Rainfall (636 mm per year) is fairly evenly distributed from September to May, with the summer drought being less marked than in other Mediterranean areas. The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Arles proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Arles ceded part of its territory to

3367-558: The 2000s, with some department-level services merged into region-level services. The departments were created in 1790 as a rational replacement of Ancien Régime provinces with a view to strengthen national unity; the title "department" is used to mean a part of a larger whole. Almost all of them were named after physical geographical features (rivers, mountains, or coasts), rather than after historical or cultural territories, which could have their own loyalties, or after their own administrative seats. The division of France into departments

3458-412: The Balladur Committee has not retained this proposition and does not advocate the disappearance of the departments, but simply "favors the voluntary grouping of departments", which it suggests also for the regions, with the aim of reducing the number of regions to 15. This committee advocates, on the contrary, the suppression of the cantons. Each department has a coat of arms and a flag with which it

3549-552: The Jewish taxes to the clergy somewhat of a shield for the community from mob attacks, most frequent during the Crusades . The community lived relatively peacefully until the last decade of the 15th century, when they were expelled out of the city never to return. Several Jews did live in the city in the centuries after, though no community was found ever after. Nowadays, Jewish archaeological findings and texts from Arles can be found in

3640-843: The Republic (all created in 1946) – French Guiana , Guadeloupe , Martinique and Réunion – the total number of departments in the French Republic had become 101. In 2015 the Urban Community of Lyon was split from Rhône to form the Métropole de Lyon , a sui generis entity, with the powers of both an intercommunality and those of a department on its territory, formally classified as a "territorial collectivity with particular status" ( French : collectivité territoriale à statut particulier ) and as such not belonging to any department. As of 2019 Corse-du-Sud and Haute-Corse are still administrative departments, although they no longer have

3731-455: The Rhône and sea dykes, but flooding remains a problem across the region. 43°32′N 04°30′E  /  43.533°N 4.500°E  / 43.533; 4.500 Departments of France In the administrative divisions of France , the department ( French : département , pronounced [depaʁtəmɑ̃] ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities "), between

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3822-481: The Rhône as it transports huge quantities of mud downstream – as much as 20 million m annually. Some of the étangs are the remnants of old arms and legs of the river. The general trend is for the coastline to move outwards as new earth is deposited in the delta at the river's mouth. Aigues-Mortes , originally built as a port on the coast, is now some 5 km (3.1 mi) inland. The pace of change has been modified in recent years by man-made barriers, such as dams on

3913-455: The Salic. Though his successors counted themselves kings of Arles, few went to be crowned in the cathedral. Most of the kingdom's territory was progressively incorporated into France. During these troubled times, the amphitheatre was converted into a fortress, with watchtowers built at each of the four quadrants and a minuscule walled town being constructed within. The population was by now only

4004-429: The archdiocese of Caesarius of Arles and Hilary of Arles . Additionally, many artists have lived and worked in this area, including Pablo Picasso , Paul Gauguin and Jacques Réattu . The Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles from 1888 to 1889, and produced over 300 paintings and drawings during his time there. These are held in internationally known museums and private collections around

4095-454: The area of Paris . In addition to the city proper in the north of the territory, the commune of Arles includes a number of outlying towns and hamlets, including Albaron, Gageron, Mas-Thibert, Moulès, Pont-de-Crau , Raphèle-lès-Arles, Saliers, Salin-de-Giraud and Le Sambuc. The Ligurians were in this area from about 800 BC. Later Celtic influences have also been discovered. The city became an important Phoenician trading port, before it

4186-580: The best collections of Roman sarcophagi to be found anywhere outside Rome itself. Other museums include the Musée Réattu and the Museon Arlaten . The courtyard of the Old Arles hospital, now named "Espace Van Gogh," is a center for Vincent van Gogh's works, several of which are masterpieces. The garden, framed on all four sides by buildings of the complex, is approached through arcades on

4277-501: The bridge. This unusual design was a way of coping with the river's frequent violent floods, which would have made short work of a conventional bridge. Nothing remains of the Roman bridge, which has been replaced by a more modern bridge near the same spot. The city reached a peak of influence during the 4th and 5th centuries, when Roman Emperors frequently used it as their headquarters during military campaigns in Europe. In 395, it became

4368-580: The bust is a portrait of Caesar. Many noted the lack of resemblances to Caesar's likenesses issued on coins during the last years of the dictator's life, and to the Tusculum bust of Caesar, which depicts Julius Caesar in his lifetime, either as a so-called zeitgesicht or as a direct portrait. After a further stylistic assessment, Zanker dated the Arles-bust to the Augustan period. Elkins argued for

4459-541: The channel, tending to confirm its long working life. It is thought that the wheels were overshot water wheels with the outflow from the top driving the next one down and so on, to the base of the hill. Vertical water mills were well known to the Romans, being described by Vitruvius in his De Architectura of 25 BC, and mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History of 77 AD. There are also later references to floating water mills from Byzantium and to sawmills on

4550-414: The country's capital city, is a commune as well as a department. In continental France ( metropolitan France , excluding Corsica ), the median land area of a department is 5,965 km (2,303 sq mi), which is two-and-a-half times the median land area of the ceremonial counties of England and the preserved counties of Wales and slightly more than three-and-half times the median land area of

4641-428: The distinction of becoming the first Christian executed for heresy ( Manichaean in his case, see also Cathars , Camisards ). Despite this tension and the city's decline in the face of barbarian invasions, Arles remained a great religious centre. It hosted church councils (see Council of Arles ), the rival of Vienne , for hundreds of years. The Barbegal aqueduct and mill is a Roman watermill complex located on

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4732-400: The end of the 18th century, they had the Rhône diked to protect the town and their properties from flooding. In 1858, the building of the digue à la mer (dyke to the sea) achieved temporary protection of the delta from erosion, but it is a changing landform, always affected by waters and weather. The north of the Camargue is agricultural land. The main crops are cereals, grapes and rice. Near

4823-535: The end of the 1st century until about the end of the 3rd century. The capacity of the mills has been estimated at 4.5 tons of flour per day, sufficient to supply enough bread for 12,000 of the 30,000–40,000 inhabitants of Arelate at that time. A similar mill complex existed also on the Janiculum in Rome . Examination of the mill leat still just visible on one side of the hill shows a substantial accretion of lime in

4914-485: The few European habitats for the greater flamingo . The marshes are also a prime habitat for many species of insects, notably (and notoriously) some of the most ferocious mosquitos to be found anywhere in France. Camargue horses (Camarguais) roam the extensive marshlands, along with Camargue cattle . The native flora of the Camargue have adapted to the saline conditions. Sea lavender and glasswort flourish, along with tamarisks and reeds. Officially established as

5005-530: The first floor. A circulation gallery is located on the first and second floors. The LUMA Tower is a 56-meter tall construction, the center of the LUMA Arles arts center. In September–October 2007, divers led by Lucas Longas from the French Department of Subaquatic Archaeological Research, headed by Michel L'Hour, discovered a life-sized marble bust of an apparently important Roman person in

5096-467: The first weekend of September, during the feria , Arles also holds Spanish-style corridas (in which the bulls are killed) with an encierro (bull-running in the streets) preceding each fight. Parts of the films Ronin , At Eternity's Gate and Taxi 3 were filmed in Arles. Arles played a major role in Marseille-Provence 2013 , the year-long series of cultural events held in

5187-471: The kingdom of Transjuran Burgundy (literally, beyond the Jura mountains), which included western Switzerland as far as the river Reuss, Valais , Geneva , Chablais and Bugey . In 933, Hugh of Arles ("Hugues de Provence") gave his kingdom up to Rudolph II, who merged the two kingdoms into a new Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles . In 1032, King Rudolph III died, and the kingdom was inherited by Emperor Conrad II

5278-403: The local museum. Arles has a hot summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csa ) with a mean annual temperature of 14.6 °C (1948–1999). The summers are warm and moderately dry, with seasonal averages between 22 °C and 24 °C, and cool to mild winters with a mean temperature of about 7 °C. The city is constantly, but especially in the winter months, subject to the influence of

5369-450: The local organisation of police, fire departments as well as, in certain cases, elections. Each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council ( sg. conseil départemental , pl. conseils départementaux ). From 1800 to April 2015, these were called general councils ( sg. conseil général , pl. conseils généraux ). Each council has a president. Their main areas of responsibility include

5460-411: The management of a number of social and welfare allowances, of junior high school ( collège ) buildings and technical staff, and local roads and school and rural buses, and a contribution to municipal infrastructures. Local services of the state administration are traditionally organised at departmental level, where the prefect represents the government; however, regions have gained importance since

5551-423: The marsh'. The river Rhône forks into two branches just upstream of Arles, forming the Camargue delta. Because the Camargue is for a large part administratively part of Arles, the commune as a whole is the largest commune in Metropolitan France in terms of territory. But its population numbers only slightly more than 50,000. Its area is 758.93 km (293.02 sq mi), which is more than seven times

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5642-403: The mill complex, and a sluice which enabled the operators to control the water supply to the complex. The mill consisted of 16 water wheels in two separate rows built into a steep hillside. There are substantial masonry remains of the water channels and foundations of the individual mills, together with a staircase rising up the hill upon which the mills are built. The mills apparently operated from

5733-659: The new Savoyard territory, while the department of Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice and a portion of the Var department. The 89 departments were given numbers based on the alphabetical order of their names. The department of Bas-Rhin and parts of Meurthe , Moselle , Vosges and Haut-Rhin were ceded to the German Empire in 1871 following France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War . A small part of Haut-Rhin, however, remained French and became known as

5824-515: The new commune of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône in 1904, and to the new commune of Saint-Martin-de-Crau in 1925. Arles has important Roman remnants, most of which have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1981 within the Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments group. They include: The town also has a museum of ancient history, the Musée de l'Arles et de la Provence antiques , with one of

5915-407: The numbers corresponded to the alphabetical order of the names of the departments, but several changed their names and some have been divided, so the correspondence became less exact. Alphanumeric codes 2A and 2B were used for Corsica while it was split but it has since reverted to 20. The two-digit code "98" is used by Monaco . Together with the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code FR, the numbers form

6006-442: The numbers of all the departments. In 2014, President François Hollande proposed abolishing departmental councils by 2020, which would have maintained the departments as administrative divisions, and transferring their powers to other levels of governance. This reform project has since been scrapped. The first French territorial departments were proposed in 1665 by Marc-René d'Argenson to serve as administrative areas purely for

6097-404: The outer Camargue has been drained for agricultural purposes. The Camargue has an eponymous horse breed, the white Camarguais . Camargue horses are ridden by the gardians (cowboys), who rear the region's cattle for fighting bulls for regional use and for export to Spain, as well as sheep. Many of these animals are raised in semi-feral conditions, allowed to roam through the Camargue within

6188-532: The persons involved in the find of having willfully invented their claims for publicity reasons. The French ministry of culture has not yet responded to the criticism and negative reviews. AC Arles-Avignon was a professional French football team. They previously played in Championnat de France Amateur, the fourth division in French football, but were dissolved in 2016. They play at the Parc des Sports , which has

6279-429: The prefect retains only the powers that are not delegated to the department councils. In practice, their role has been largely limited to preventing local policy from conflicting with national policy. The departments are further divided into communes , governed by municipal councils . As of 2013, there were 36,681 communes in France. In the overseas territories , some communes play a role at departmental level. Paris ,

6370-413: The province of Gallia Narbonensis . It covered an area of some 40 hectares (99 acres) and possessed a number of monuments, including an amphitheatre , triumphal arch , Roman circus , theatre , and a full circuit of walls. Ancient Arles was closer to the sea than it is now and served as a major port. The river has carried centuries of silt that has filled in the former harbor. The city had (and still has)

6461-780: The region after it was designated the European Capital of Culture for 2013. The city hosted a segment of the opening ceremony with a pyrotechnical performance by Groupe F on the banks of the Rhône. It also unveiled the new wing of the Musée Départemental Arles Antique as part of Marseille-Provence 2013. Arles's open-air street market is a major market in the region. It takes place on Saturday and Wednesday mornings. The Gare d'Arles railway station offers connections to Avignon , Nîmes , Marseille , Paris , Bordeaux and several regional destinations. Arles does not have its own commercial airport, but

6552-464: The revolutionary government had turned the departments into transmission belts for policies enacted in Paris. With few exceptions, the departments had this role until the early 1960s. These maps cannot be used as a useful resource of voter preferences, because Departmental Councils are elected on a two-round system, which drastically limits the chances of fringe parties, if they are not supported on one of

6643-608: The river Moselle by the poet Ausonius . The use of multiple stacked sequences of reverse overshot water wheels was widespread in Roman mines. In 735, after raiding the Lower Rhône, Andalusian Saracens led by Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri moved into the stronghold summoned by Count Maurontus , who feared Charles Martel 's expansionist ambitions, though this may have been an excuse to further Muslim expansion beyond Iberia. The next year, Charles campaigned south to Septimania and Provence, attacking and capturing Arles from

6734-468: The scientists came to the preliminary conclusion that the bust depicted a life-portrait of the Roman dictator: France's Minister of Culture Christine Albanel reported on 13 May 2008 that the bust would be the oldest representation of Caesar known today. The story was picked up by all larger media outlets. The realism of the portrait was said to place it in the tradition of late Republican portrait and genre sculptures. The archaeologists further claimed that

6825-548: The seashore, prehistoric man started extracting salt, a practice that continues today. Salt was a source of wealth for the Cistercian "salt abbeys" of Ulmet , Franquevaux and Psalmody in the Middle Ages. Industrial salt collection started in the 19th century, and big chemical companies such as Péchiney and Solvay founded the "mining" city of Salin-de-Giraud . The boundaries of the Camargue are constantly altered by

6916-603: The seat of the Praetorian Prefecture of the Gauls , governing the western part of the Western Empire: Gaul proper plus Hispania (Spain) and Armorica ( Brittany ). At that time, the city was home to an estimated 75,000–100,000 people. It became a favorite city of Emperor Constantine I , who built baths there, substantial remains of which are still standing. His son, Constantine II ,

7007-530: The southernmost bridge on the Rhône. The recently discovered republican House of the Harpist is an exceptional example of ancient architecture and interior decoration. Dating from 70-50 BC, it has yielded elaborate frescoes. The Roman bridge was unique in that it was not fixed but consisted of a pontoon-style bridge of boats , with towers and drawbridges at each end. The boats were secured in place by anchors and were tethered to twin towers built just upstream of

7098-504: The southwest. The medieval fortress-town of Aigues-Mortes is located on the far western edge, in the Petite Camargue. Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is the destination of the annual Romani pilgrimage for the veneration of Saint Sarah . The Camargue was exploited in the Middle Ages by Cistercian and Benedictine monks. In the 16th–17th centuries, big estates, known locally as mas , were founded by rich landlords from Arles . At

7189-428: The status of departmental " territorial collectivities ": region and department functions have been managed by a " single territorial collectivity " since 2018. Despite the intention to avoid the old nomenclature, often the names of pre-1790 provinces remained in use. For example, the name of Berry , though no longer having an official status, remains in widespread use in daily life. The departmental seat of government

7280-593: The territorial gains of the Republic and of the First French Empire . Following the defeats of Napoleon in 1814–1815 the Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size and the number of departments was reduced to 86 (three of the original departments having been split). In 1860 France acquired the County of Nice and Savoy , which led to the creation of three new departments. Two were added from

7371-412: The territory of the commune of Fontvieille , a few kilometres from Arles. The complex has been referred to as "the greatest known concentration of mechanical power in the ancient world ". The remains of the mill streams and buildings which housed the overshot water wheels are still visible at the site, and it is by far the best-preserved of ancient mills. There are two aqueducts which join just north of

7462-462: The third century AD as the terminus post quem for the deposition of the statues, refuting the claim that the bust was thrown away due to feared repercussions from Caesar's assassination in 44 BC. The main argument by the French archaeologists that Caesar had founded the colony in 46 BC proved to be incorrect, as the colony was founded by Caesar's former quaestor Tiberius Claudius Nero on the dictator's orders in his absence. Mary Beard has accused

7553-523: The town. Arles was an important Jewish crossroads, as a port city and close to Spain and the rest of Europe alike. It served a major role in the work of the Hachmei Provence group of famous Jewish scholars, translators and philosophers, who were most important to Judaism throughout the Middle Ages. In the eighth century, jurisdiction over the Jews of Arles was passed to the local Archbishop, making

7644-455: The two rounds by a moderate party. After the 1992 election, the left had a majority in only 21 of the 100 departments; after the 2011 election, the left dominated 61 of the 100 departments. (Mayotte only became a department after the election.) Key to the parties: The removal of one or more levels of local government has been discussed for some years; in particular, the option of removing the departmental level. Frédéric Lefebvre , spokesman for

7735-455: The world. An international photography festival has been held annually in the city since 1970. The settlement is attested as Arelate in the mid-1st century BC ( Caesar ), Areláte (Ἀρελάτε) in the early 1st c. AD ( Strabo ), Arlate civitas in 954, and Arle in the 13th century. The toponym Arelate is a Latinized form of the Gaulish * Arelati , meaning 'by the marsh', or 'in front of

7826-490: Was a project particularly identified with the French revolutionary leader the Abbé Sieyès , although it had already been frequently discussed and written about by many politicians and thinkers. The earliest known suggestion of it is from 1665 in the writings of d'Argenson . They have inspired similar divisions in many countries, some of them former French colonies. The 1822 territorial division of Spain (reverted due to

7917-538: Was born in Arles. Usurper Constantine III declared himself emperor in the West (407–411) and made Arles his capital in 408. Arles became renowned as a cultural and religious centre during the late Roman Empire. It was the birthplace of Favorinus , known as the sceptical philosopher. It was also a key location for Roman Christianity and an important base for the Christianization of Gaul. The city's bishopric

8008-472: Was created in the regained territory, with slightly different boundaries from the pre-war department of the same name. The reorganisation of Île-de-France in 1968 and the division of Corsica in 1975 added six more departments, raising the total in Metropolitan France to 96. By 2011, when the overseas collectivity of Mayotte became a department, joining the earlier overseas departments of

8099-675: Was held by a series of outstanding clerics, beginning with Saint Trophimus around 225 and continuing with Saint Honoratus , then Saint Hilarius in the first half of the 5th century. The political tension between the Catholic bishops of Arles and the Visigothic kings is epitomized in the career of the Frankish St. Caesarius, bishop of Arles 503–542. Suspected by the Arian Visigoth Alaric II of conspiring with

8190-460: Was stripped of its possessions, which were transferred to Arelate as a reward. The town was formally established as a colony for veterans of the Roman legion Legio VI Ferrata , which had its base there. Its full title as a colony was Colonia Iulia Paterna Arelatensium Sextanorum , "the ancestral Julian colony of Arles of the soldiers of the Sixth." Arelate was a city of considerable importance in

8281-518: Was taken over by the Romans . The Romans took the town in 123 BC and expanded it into an important city. They built a canal link to the Mediterranean Sea in 104 BC. Arles had to compete with Massalia (Marseille) further along the coast. Arles' leaders sided with Julius Caesar against Pompey , providing military support. Massalia backed Pompey; when Caesar emerged victorious, Massalia

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