In France , a prefecture ( French : préfecture , pronounced [pʁefɛktyʁ] ) may be:
28-549: Agen ( French: [aʒɛ̃] , locally [aˈʒɛŋ] , Occitan: [aˈdʒen] ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine , Southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne , 135 kilometres (84 miles) southeast of Bordeaux . In 2021, the commune had a population of 32,485. The city of Agen lies in the southwestern department of Lot-et-Garonne in
56-853: A Prefecture of Police ( French : préfecture de police ), known as the Paris Police Prefecture , a situation inherited from the Paris Commune of 1871. The power of law enforcement is usually vested in the mayor in other communes . This power is held by the Prefect of Police of Paris in the Petite Couronne. In 2012, a similar structure was established in Bouches-du-Rhône , the Bouches-du-Rhône Police Prefecture , headed by
84-480: A commercial multiscreened affair, the other an arts cinema run by a voluntary organization. The latter organizes film festivals every year. Rugby is extremely popular in the town, and the local team, SU Agen , is enthusiastically supported. The town also serves as the base for the Team Lot-et-Garonne cycling team. The Gare d'Agen connects Agen with Toulouse and Bordeaux as well as Périgueux . It
112-695: A number of medieval buildings. The twelfth century Agen Cathedral , dedicated to Saint Caprasius , is one of the few large churches in France with a double nave , a regional trait also found in the Church of the Jacobins in nearby Toulouse . The Saint Hilaire church, dedicated to the theme of the Holy Trinity which the Saint in question did a lot to defend, is notable for its unusual statues in front of
140-527: Is around an hour from Toulouse and around an hour from Bordeaux. The TGV train to Paris takes three hours and thirteen minutes with a stop in Bordeaux. Agen is connected, by the A62 autoroute , to both Toulouse and Bordeaux . The Agen Airport is serviced by Airlinair service to Paris Orly 6 days a week. It is also used for business and leisure flying. Agen stands on the voie verte cycle path between
168-537: Is elected through a system of cantons . It is in charge of the building and maintenance of middle schools ( collèges ) and departmental roads, financial assistance to dependent people (disabled and elderly), as well as promotion of local economic development, amongst other matters. In the past, the prefect was head of the department, but since 1982, the President of the Departmental Council has assumed
196-851: Is made up of twenty or so rooms. The Canal des Deux Mers , which joins the Mediterranean with the Atlantic, crosses the river Garonne at Agen via the town's famous canal bridge. Louis Arthur Ducos du Hauron (1837 – 1920), a pioneer of colour photography lived and worked in Agen. He developed practical processes for colour photography on the three-colour principle, using both additive and subtractive methods. In 1868 he patented his ideas (French Patent No. 83061) and in 1869 he published them in Les couleurs en photographie, solution du problème . The most widely reproduced of his surviving colour photographs
224-467: Is spread equally throughout the year; however, most sunshine hours are from March–September. From Occitan Agen (1197), itself from Latin Aginnum (3rd century Itinéraire d'Antonin ), from a Celtic root agin- meaning "rock or height". The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average. Major employers include the pharmaceutical factory UPSA . The old centre of town contains
252-548: Is the View of Agen , an 1877 landscape, printed by the subtractive assembly method which he pioneered. Several different photographs of the view from his attic window, one dated 1874, also survive. The municipal theatre "Théâtre Ducourneau" presents theatre, and occasionally classical concerts. The smaller "Théâtre du jour" has a resident theatre company presenting a variety of recent or older plays (Shakespeare, Beckett, as well as lesser known playwrights). There are two cinemas, one
280-721: Is the prefect ( French : préfet ). The prefecture is an administration that belongs to the Ministry of the Interior ; it is therefore in charge of the delivery of identity cards, driving licenses, passports, residency and work permits for foreigners, vehicle registration, registration of associations (creation, status modification, dissolution), as well as of the management of the National Police and firefighters , although as of 2018, 79% of firefighters in France are part-time volunteers. Prefectures are usually located near
308-653: The Pro D2 , France's second division of rugby. Founded in 1908, Agen is one of the historic clubs in French rugby, having won the French Championship eight times. Its home ground is the Stade Armandie and traditional club colours are navy blue and white. The club is renowned for its youth system and its academy structure. The club was established in 1900. They made their first championship final in
SECTION 10
#1732765524529336-534: The 1930 season, where they met US Quillan , and defeated them 4 points to nil in Bordeaux , and thus capturing their first championship title. The club experienced some success in the coming years in the Challenge Yves du Manoir competition as well; winning it in the 1932 season and then becoming runners-up to Lyon OU in the 1933 season. Agen would have another successful run in the 1940s, beginning with
364-538: The 1943 season when they defeated Stade Bordelais 11 to 4 to win the Coupe de France . That season they also made it to the championship final; though they were defeated by Aviron Bayonnais 3 points to nil at Parc des Princes in Paris. In 1945 they again won the title of the French championship, defeating FC Lourdes 7 points to 3 in the final in Paris. The championship was one of two titles that season, as Agen also won
392-621: The 1987 Challenge Yves du Manoir, losing to Grenoble. However, in 1988 they again won the championship, defeating Stadoceste Tarbais 9 to 3 in the final. They contested the final again in the 1990 season, losing to Racing Club de France 22 points to 12. In 1992 they won the Challenge Yves du Manoir, defeating RC Narbonne 23 to 18. In 1998 they played in their first European cup final, the European Challenge Cup , losing to fellow French team US Colomiers 43 to 5 in
420-516: The Church – Moses on the right, and St Peter on the left. The art museum, the Musée des Beaux Arts [ fr ] , contains artefacts, furniture and sculptures from prehistoric times onwards. The art gallery contains several hundred works, including several by Goya , and others by Bonnard and Seurat. The collection also contains a large number of works by artists who lived locally. The museum
448-511: The Coupe de France, defeating Montferrand 14 to 13. Agen featured in one more championship that decade, losing to Toulouse 10 points to 3. Agen were relatively quiet during the 1950s, though they again rose to prominence during the 1960s. In 1962 they again became of the champions of France after defeating Béziers 14 points to 11 in the season final. The following season they won the Challenge Yves du Manoir, defeating Brive 11 points to nil in
476-532: The Mediterranean and close to Bordeaux. Agen is the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese that comprises the Département of Lot and Garonne . It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bordeaux . Agen is twinned with: Agen is the "capital of the prune ", a local product consumed as a sweet, either stuffed with prune purée or in pastries, or as a dessert, e.g., prunes soaked in Armagnac , a type of brandy. On
504-598: The Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. The city centre lies on the east bank of the river Garonne , the Canal de Garonne flows through the city, approximately halfway between Bordeaux 132 km (82 mi) and Toulouse 107 km (66 mi). Agen features an oceanic climate (Cfb), in the Köppen climate classification. Winters are mild and feature cool to cold temperatures while summers are mild and warm. Rainfall
532-409: The Prefect of Police of Bouches-du-Rhône, although it is formally less independent than that of Paris. Departments are divided into arrondissements , themselves divided into cantons . The chef-lieu d'arrondissement is the subprefecture ( French : sous-préfecture ). The official in charge is the subprefect ( French : sous-préfet ). There are relatively few competences associated to cantons,
560-566: The championship final of the 1976 season, and defeat them 13 to 10 to win their first championship since 1966. Agen went through period of success in the 1980s after winning the championship in 1982, defeating Aviron Bayonnais 18 points to 9 in the final. The following season they won the Challenge Yves du Manoir as well after defeating Toulon 29 points to 7. In 1984 they again contested the championship final, though they eventually lost it to Béziers. They unsuccessfully contested it again in 1986, losing to Toulouse 16 to 6. They were also runners-up in
588-443: The final. Agen became the French champions on two more occasions during the 1960s, defeating Brive in 1965 and then Dax in 1966. The club had another successful run during the 1970s, starting with an unsuccessful Challenge Yves du Manoir final, losing to Toulon 25 points to 22. They were unsuccessful again in 1975 in the Challenge Yves du Manoir, losing to Béziers 16 points to 12 in the final. However they would then meet Béziers in
SECTION 20
#1732765524529616-560: The final. On June 8, 2002 they lost to Biarritz Olympique in the championship final. In recent years, one of their biggest stars has been Fijian winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca . He led the team in tries in 2005 and 2006, and led Pro D2 in that category during Agen's most recent promotion season in 2010. However, he would be dismissed from the team in September 2010 after failing to report to the team for preseason workouts (several weeks later, he would reemerge at Toulouse). The Agen squad for
644-475: The geographic centre of their departments; they were originally chosen for being within a day's travel on horseback from anywhere in the department. Therefore, the largest settlement in a department may not always be its prefecture: the department of Marne , for example, has its prefecture at Châlons-en-Champagne despite the city of Reims , near the Aisne border, being four times its size. The prefect represents
672-463: The last weekend of August, a prune festival comprises rock concerts, circus performances and prune tastings. The first Jews settled in the town in the twelfth century AD. They were expelled from the town in 1306. A number of Jews returned to the town in 1315, and a "Rue des Juifs" is documented ever since this period. In 1968, about 600 Jews lived in the town, though most of them had emigrated from North Africa . A Jewish synagogue still exists in
700-492: The most important one being the local organisation of elections, as cantons are electoral subdivisions. SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne Sporting Union Agen Lot-et-Garonne ( French pronunciation: [spɔʁtɪŋ ynjɔ̃ aʒɛ̃ lɔt e ɡaʁɔn] ), commonly referred to as SU Agen , Agen ( French pronunciation: [aʒɛ̃] ) or SUALG , is a French professional rugby union club based in Agen , Lot-et-Garonne that competes in
728-462: The national government at the local level and as such exercises the powers that are constitutionally attributed to the national government. The prefect issues ordinances written for the application of local law: to close a building that does not conform to safety codes, or modify vehicular traffic regulations (speed limit, construction permits). The governing body of the department is the departmental council ( French : Conseil départemental ), which
756-474: The role of chief executive of the department. There is an exception in Paris in the Île-de-France region and its three surrounding departments, known as the Petite Couronne ("Small Crown"): Hauts-de-Seine to the west, Seine-Saint-Denis to the northeast and Val-de-Marne to the southeast. These departments are administered by an additional separate unitary prefecture for law enforcement and security purposes,
784-517: The town. Prefectures in France Although the administration of departments and regions is distinct, a regional prefect is ex officio prefect of the department in which the regional prefecture is located. The officeholder has authority upon the other prefects in the region on a range of matters. There are 101 prefectures in France , one for each department. The official in charge
#528471