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116-519: The Aquitaine Basin, named after the French region Aquitaine , is roughly funnel-shaped with its opening pointing towards the Atlantic Ocean . Here it meets for 330 km the straight, more or less north–south-trending Atlantic coastline but continues offshore to the continental slope . To the south, it is delimitated for 350 km by the west-northwest–east-southeast trending Pyrenees . In

232-582: A climatic optimum with global average sea-water temperatures around 24 °C compared to today's 13 °C. The Turonian can be subdivided into two parts: Towards the end of the Turonian, the Massif Central experienced uplift which is reflected in the sediments of the northeastern Aquitaine Basin as a strong input of detritus, mainly sands in the upper part of the Angoumian. The Coniacian and

348-572: A flood of the Garonne devastated more than 1,000 houses and killed 200 people. It also destroyed all the bridges in Toulouse, except the Pont-Neuf . World War I brought to Toulouse (geographically sheltered from enemy attacks) chemical industries as well as aviation workshops ( Latécoère , Dewoitine ), which launched the city's aeronautical construction tradition and gave birth after the war to

464-607: A growth of 15.3% for metropolitan France between 1990 and 2020, i.e. +0.48% per year. This was the second-highest population growth of any French metropolitan area larger than 500,000 inhabitants (only the Montpellier metropolitan area grew more than Toulouse between 1990 and 2019). The Toulouse metropolitan area reached 1,470,899 inhabitants in January 2020, and stood as the 5th most populated metropolitan area in France, behind

580-508: A high-energy zone. On the shallow shelf-domain east of the reefs, neritic limestones were deposited in the north and dolomites in the south; in the Quercy, even supratidal lignite -bearing limestones were formed. In the western domain open towards the Atlantic, the pelagic sediments comprise ammonite-bearing limy marls very rich in filamentous microfossils ( bryozoans ). The first sequence in

696-527: A population of 1.5 million inhabitants (2021). Toulouse is the central city of one of the 22 metropolitan councils of France. Between the 2014 and 2020 censuses, its metropolitan area was the third fastest growing among metropolitan areas larger than 500,000 inhabitants in France. Toulouse is the centre of the European aerospace industry, with the headquarters of Airbus , the SPOT satellite system , ATR and

812-521: A regression set in. The Subpyrenean Basin became completely filled with the erosional debris of the rising Pyrenees. In the Médoc, nummulite-bearing marls and limestones were still being laid down, but east of Bordeaux already continental molasses appeared that change farther south into gypsum-bearing formations. During the Lower Oligocene ( Rupelian ), a permanently marine environment persists in

928-506: A restricted environment ( lagoonal ) evolving towards a lacustrine facies (green shales, coloured marls, dolomitic limestones and platy limestones rich in dwarf fossils, and evaporitic interlayers). The sediments of the Sinemurian are again fully marine and carry a pelagic fauna (soft banded limestones and hard lithographic limestones). At the end of the Sinemurian, a sudden regression occurred, forming hardgrounds . The second sequence of

1044-951: A shelf environment open to the spreading Atlantic Ocean. During the Lower Domerian, a connection to the Paris Basin is breached for the first time via the Seuil du Poitou and also to the Jurassic sea of southeastern France via the Détroit de Rodez and the Détroit de Carcassonne . During the Upper Domerian, another regression sets in leaving sandy limestones very rich in fossils ( Pleuroceras spinatum , Pecten aequivalvis ). These littoral facies rocks can change into iron-rich oolites along their margins. The sequence finishes again with hardgrounds. The third and last sequence of

1160-764: Is a recent designation, given to the overseas departments that have similar powers to those of the regions of metropolitan France . As integral parts of the French Republic , they are represented in the National Assembly , Senate and Economic and Social Council , elect a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and use the euro as their currency. Although these territories have had these political powers since 1982, when France's decentralisation policy dictated that they be given elected regional councils along with other regional powers,

1276-540: Is a table of former regions and which new region they became part of. (Occitania) Regions lack separate legislative authority and therefore cannot write their own statutory law. They levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing part of their budget from the central government, which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies. They also have considerable budgets managed by a regional council (conseil régional) made up of representatives voted into office in regional elections. A region's primary responsibility

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1392-719: Is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania . The city is on the banks of the River Garonne , 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the Mediterranean Sea , 230 km (143 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean and 680 km (420 mi) from Paris . It is the fourth-largest city in France after Paris , Marseille and Lyon , with 504,078 inhabitants within its municipal boundaries (2021); its metropolitan area has

1508-580: Is to build and furnish high schools. In March 2004, the French central government unveiled a controversial plan to transfer regulation of certain categories of non-teaching school staff to the regional authorities. Critics of this plan contended that tax revenue was insufficient to pay for the resulting costs, and that such measures would increase regional inequalities. In addition, regions have considerable discretionary power over infrastructural spending, e.g., education, public transit, universities and research, and assistance to business owners. This has meant that

1624-544: Is underlain on its far western side by oceanic crust dated at 100–95 million years BP ( Cenomanian ). It is bounded by dextral wrench faults (possible transform faults ) and probably represents a pull-apart basin . (Note: Permo-Triassic basins like the Brive Basin and the Grésigne Basin are considered to belong to the basement of the Massif Central.) Structural and sedimentological investigations of

1740-591: The Consistori del Gay Saber was created in Toulouse to preserve the lyric art of the troubadours by organizing a poetry contest; and Toulouse became the centre of Occitan literary culture for the following centuries. The Consistori is considered to be the oldest literary society in Europe, at the origin of one of the most sophisticated treatise on grammar and rhetoric of the Middle Ages, and in 1694 it

1856-648: The Aerospace Valley . It hosts the CNES 's Toulouse Space Centre (CST) which is the largest national space centre in Europe, but also, on the military side, the newly created NATO space centre of excellence and the French Space Command and Space Academy. Safran , Thales Alenia Space , Airbus Defence and Space , Collins Aerospace and Liebherr-Aerospace also have a significant presence in Toulouse. The air route between Toulouse–Blagnac and

1972-612: The Barremian , marine shallow-water carbonates were precipitated, changing to detritic sediments in the northern Parentis Basin. Near Lacq , they change to lagoonal anhydrites. In the Upper Aptian , the reef-forming Urgonian facies became established in both sub-basins—fossiliferous limestones composed of algae , coralline polyps, and rudists . The Urgonian facies completely surrounds the Parentis Basin and persists into

2088-534: The Battle of Vouillé . From that time, Toulouse was the capital of Aquitaine within the Frankish realm. In 721, Duke Odo of Aquitaine defeated an invading Umayyad Muslim army at the Battle of Toulouse . Many Arab chroniclers consider that Odo's victory was the real stop to Muslim expansion into Christian Europe , incursions of the following years being simple raids without real will of conquest (including

2204-481: The Bourg in practice a separate district from the city. In 1152, the notables of Toulouse took advantage of a weakening of the county power to obtain for their city a great autonomy, they created a municipal body of consuls, called capitouls in Toulouse, to lead the city. The Bourg , which had only a quarter of the inhabitants of Toulouse, obtained as many capitouls as the rest of the city. Economically, Toulouse, which

2320-617: The Causses , and even onto the Massif Central. Following its retreat in the southwestern Landes , the sea began transgressing towards the north and the east during the Lower Miocene ( Aquitanian ). Marine, littoral, and lacustrine facies interchange. During a minor regression, a huge lake formed near Condom , the Lac de Saucats , in which grey lacustrine-limestones precipitated, the so-called Calcaire gris de l'Agenais . Shortly thereafter

2436-696: The Coniacian , Santonian , and Campanian in the Charente. At the northern edge of the basin, more differentiated coastal facies develop. In the north, the Cenomanian is made up of three sedimentary cycles (from young to old): The Turonian reflects a transgressive period with the sea spreading into the Lot . At this point, the Upper Cretaceous sea had reached its highstand. This also coincides with

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2552-722: The Cretaceous has less pronounced sequences. The Lower Cretaceous sediments are restricted to close to the Pyrenees. Most likely the exchange of ocean water masses was better towards the Tethyan realm than towards the Atlantic. Sedimentation increased again after a longer hiatus in the Lower Cretaceous, but only in two locales—the Parentis Basin and the Adour Basin. Both sub-basins manifest a huge subsidence . During

2668-648: The French Empire to the nations of the Sixth Coalition (a fact that the two armies involved were not yet aware of), the Battle of Toulouse pitted the Hispanic-British troops of Field Marshal Wellington against the French troops of Napoleonic Marshal Soult , who, although they managed to resist, were forced to withdraw. Toulouse was thus the scene of the last Franco-British battle on French territory. Unlike most large French cities, there

2784-476: The French Revolution of 1789 and the reform or suppression of all royal institutions, Toulouse lost much of its power and influence: until then the capital of the vast province of Languedoc, with a parliament ruling over an even larger territory, the city then found itself simply at the head of the single small department of Haute-Garonne . On 10 April 1814, four days after Napoleon 's surrender of

2900-515: The French Revolution ), making it the unofficial capital of the cultural region of Occitania (Southern France). It is now the capital of the administrative region of Occitania , the second largest region in Metropolitan France . The University of Toulouse is one of the oldest in Europe (founded in 1229). Toulouse is also the home of prestigious higher education schools, notably in the field of aerospace engineering. Together with

3016-680: The Lias , two in the Dogger and two in the Malm : The complete Jurassic cycle is only preserved in the Quercy ; farther south, e.g. in the Subpyrenean Basin, the cycle has many gaps. The basal Hettangian -Sinemurian sequence is fully transgressive over basement rocks or Permo-Triassic sediments. At that time, the first open-marine sediments (yet rather poor in fossils) were being deposited in

3132-677: The Lower Eocene ( Ypresian ), another transgressive period saw the sea advance north into the Médoc and south of Oléron ; in the southeast it even reached the Montagne Noire. In the Aturian Gulf, Globorotalia -bearing marls were deposited, while farther east turritella -rich marls and limestones were formed. The newly inundated areas receive sands and limestones rich in alveolinids and nummulites . Meanwhile, iron-rich sands (in

3248-766: The Lower Oxfordian , the first sequence of the Malm seems to follow the Callovian without a distinctive break. Yet cellular limestones and breccias indicate sediment reworking (this was certainly the case in the Grands Causses farther east). During the Middle and the Upper Oxfordian, marine limestones are laid down which incorporate occasional reefs. The Lower Kimmeridgian sediments are sedimented close to

3364-684: The Parisian airports is the busiest in France, transporting 3.2 million passengers in 2019. According to the rankings of L'Express and Challenges , Toulouse is the most dynamic French city. Founded by the Romans, the city was the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom in the 5th century and the capital of the province of Languedoc in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period (provinces were abolished during

3480-590: The Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route . The city's unique architecture made of pinkish terracotta bricks has earned Toulouse the nickname La Ville rose ("The Pink city"). Toulouse is in the south of France, north of the department of Haute-Garonne, on the axis of communication between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is about 100 km from the Pyrenees and

3596-525: The same root as Irish tulach or Welsh twlch , (little hill). Tolosa enters the historical period in the 2nd century BC, when it became a Roman military outpost. After the conquest of Gaul , it was developed as a Roman city in Gallia Narbonensis . Under the reign of Emperor Augustus and thanks to the Pax Romana , the Romans moved the city a few kilometres from the hills where it

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3712-416: The 12th century the city left its Roman limits and a new district developed around the church of Saint-Sernin : the Bourg . The church of Saint-Sernin was famous and revered for its many relics, and the chapter of its canons, which had possessions as far away as Spain, was powerful enough to free itself from the control of the bishop of Toulouse. This dissent had important local political repercussions, making

3828-522: The AZF fertiliser factory, causing 31 deaths, about 30 seriously wounded and 2,500 light casualties. The blast measured 3.4 on the Richter scale and the explosion was heard 80 km (50 mi) away. In 2016, a territorial reform made Toulouse the regional prefecture of Occitanie , the second largest region in metropolitan France, giving it a role commensurate with its past as a provincial capital among

3944-586: The Agenais. The Subpyrenean Basin deepened and was simultaneously being filled by conglomerates brought in from the east, the so-called Poudingues de Palassou . This marked the beginning of uplift in the Pyrenean orogen and a switch-over in detritus provenance from the Massif Central in the north to the Pyrenees in the south. Coalescing alluvial fans built out north into the Castrais . On the northern flank of

4060-586: The Albian. Since the onset of the Albian , strong halokinetic movements affect the southern Aquitaine Basin and in turn profoundly influence sedimentation patterns. As a result, breccias, thick conglomerates, and turbidites are shed. In the Parentis Basin, a distinct unconformity develops. At the same time, the sediments on the Aquitaine Plateau farther north are folded into gentle wavetrains following

4176-534: The Aquitaine Basin proceeded from the northeast and was coupled with an important subaerial erosion. As a consequence several peneplanations were carved out from the detrital alluvial plains: On the pliocene peneplain, today's drainage system was firmly established. The three last Pleistocene ice ages — Mindel , Riss , and Würm —are also documented in the Aquitaine Basin, mainly by different levels of river terraces. Additionally amongst glacial phenomena

4292-680: The Aquitaine Basin. The Lias Transgression , as it is also called, started to encroach on the entire Aquitaine during the Sinemurian , characterised by calcareous-dolomitic, partially oolitic sediments. Despite smaller regressions during the Pliensbachian towards the end of the Lias and at the beginning of the Dogger the sea had onlapped the basement rocks of the Massif Central and the western Vendée (reaching today's limits) by 30 km. On

4408-418: The Aquitaine Plateau in the north, an interior shelf was constructed as far south as the line La Rochelle - Angoulême - Périgueux - Figeac . On this shelf the generally detritic transgression sediments of the Hettangian normally comprise a base conglomerate , arkoses , and fairly thick layers of sand- and mud-stones rich in plant material. The rest of the Hettangian is made up of marine sediments deposited in

4524-404: The Carolingian Civil War. Charlemagne had created the county of Toulouse in 778 to guard the border of Muslim Spain, but the disintegration of the kingdom of Aquitaine and the weakness of royal power in the following centuries led to the de facto independence of the county of Toulouse and many provinces. In the 11th and 12th centuries, southern France was still steeped in Latin culture. Unlike

4640-453: The Cenomanian sea reclaimed nearly the same areas that had been occupied by the Jurassic sea; in the east, however, it only reached the line Brive- Cahors -Agen- Muret -Carcassonne. The region of the later formed North Pyrenean Thrust is a decisive facies boundary at this time: to the north, shelf sedimentation continued but to the south rapidly subsiding basins developed into which flysch sediments (and partially also wildflysch breccias ) from

4756-453: The Charente) and molasses (in the Libournais and in the Agenais ) were sedimented in the continental north and northeast. The provenance area of these continental deposits up to Middle Ypresian times was mainly the Massif Central. The sea-level kept rising during the Middle Eocene ( Lutetian and Bartonian ). The area covered by alveolinid- and nummulite-bearing limestones increased, northward to Blaye and Saint-Palais and eastward into

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4872-435: The Dogger (note: sequences are only distinguished in the eastern shelf-domain) starts transgressing in a restricted environment during the Bajocian with dolomite . In places, Aalenian is reworked. The Bathonian is calcareous in the northeast, whereas in the southeast it keeps its dolomitic character. The end of the sequence in the Lower Bathonian shows regressive tendencies with lignites, breccias , and lacustrine fossils in

4988-405: The Hercynian strike (northwest-southeast). All these movements are correlated with the first tectonic stirrings in the Western Pyrenees. Towards the end of the Albian, the sea level is rising and the Urgonian calcareous reefs are consequently draped by muds. The transgression that began in the late Albian spread rapidly northward during the Cenomanian . In the northern part of the Aquitanian Basin,

5104-561: The Lias again is marine-transgressive and commences during the Lotharingian /Lower Carixian . The sediments can be well dated by ammonites —( Arietites , Oxynoticeras , Deroceras , and Uptonia jamesoni ). They are mainly calcareous and rich in quartz grains and pebbles of reworked Sinemurian. The Upper Carixian consists of very fossiliferous ( Aegoceras capricornu ) marly limestone layers interlayered with grey marls. These are followed by ammonite-bearing ( Amaltheus margaritatus ) and oyster -bearing ( Gryphaea cymbium ) marls indicating

5220-565: The Lias sets in during the Lower Toarcian without any detrital deposits at its base, the sediments being black ammonite-bearing marls (with Harpoceras falciferum and Hildoceras bifrons ). Towards the end of the Toarcian and the beginning of the Aalenian , the sediments turn into sandy limestones indicating another regression. Interlayered with these sandy limestones are oyster beds, iron oolite and gypsum layers; they contain ammonites like Pleydellia aalensis and Leioceras opalinum . The sequence ends with an erosional unconformity. In

5336-420: The Lower Cretaceous the Parentis Basin received 2,000 m of sediment and the Adour Basin 4,000 m. The remainder of the Aquitaine Basin is meanwhile subjected to strong erosion. The Angeac-Charente bonebed is a major fossil deposit in the Aquitane Basin, dating to the Berriasian . The first deposits in the two sub-basins were littoral sediments in Wealden facies , mainly sandstones and shales. During

5452-415: The Middle Triassic by dolomitic limestones , evaporite strata and coloured mudstones. During the Upper Triassic evaporites continued being precipitated, crowned by ophitic lava flows ( dolerites and tholeiites ). The evaporites were later activated as diapirs during the Pyrenean orogeny and the mudstones served as decollement horizons along which Triassic sediments were squeezed northwards to

5568-426: The Pyrenean realm were shed. Near Saint-Gaudens , the flysch sediments are even accompanied by volcanic rocks— trachytes , and ultrabasic lavas. The sedimentation in the flysch basins during the Turonian and during the Coniacian is very unsettled. The flysch sedimentation then continues right through the Upper Cretaceous, mainly interbedded sandstones and shales with some carbonaceous layers were laid down. Towards

5684-417: The Quercy. No ammonites are found in the eastern domain right up to the Kimmeridgian—a great handicap for correct dating purposes. The Pyrenean realm meanwhile is characterised by a long hiatus. The second sequence in the Dogger begins in the Middle Bathonian with lacustrine limestones and in places with breccia-bearing detritus. This is followed by neritic limestones precipitated in calm conditions. Yet in

5800-420: The Santonian are expressed as typical chalky limestones in the north, but both stages take on a more sandy character east of Périgueux. The Campanian follows after a pronounced unconformity. The southern flysch basins began to expand northward. Near Pau before the onset of the flysch sedimentation, a very strong erosion removed the entire Lower Cretaceous, the entire Jurassic and sometimes even cut right down to

5916-409: The ammonites Aulacostephanus and Aspidoceras orthocera . This strongly disturbed depositional environment with a coexistence of open marine facies and muds deposited under reducing conditions in a restrictive setting seems to coincide with a first sedimentary individualisation of the Pyrenean realm. The event has received its name Virgulian from the oyster Exogyra virgula . During the Tithonian,

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6032-421: The basement. North of Pau, the Campanian is a marly facies called Aturian . In the northern Aquitaine Basin, the sediments become more homogenised and settle out as fully marine flint -bearing calcareous micrites . During the Maastrichtian , a regression commences. After the initial deposition of bioclastic rudist-bearing limestones and the formation of some reef complexes composed of rudists and single corals,

6148-469: The basin have been carried out in over 70 drilled wells that encountered the Variscan basement sometimes below 6,000 m of sedimentary cover. The sedimentary evolution in the Aquitaine Basin begins in the Lower Triassic close to the North Pyrenean Thrust. From here, it slowly started spreading farther north. Sedimentation started in the very south of the Aquitaine Basin during the Lower Triassic with coloured sandstones and mudstones , followed during

6264-432: The borders with Andorra and Spain. The city is traversed by the Canal de Brienne , the Canal du Midi , the Canal de Garonne and the rivers Garonne , Touch and Hers-Mort . Toulouse has a four-season humid subtropical climate ( Cfa in the Köppen climate classification ). Too much precipitation during the summer months prevents the city from being classified in the Mediterranean climate zone. The Garonne Valley

6380-439: The city became the first European centre for the trade in woad, the only blue dye then known in Europe which was very much in demand in the textile industry at the time. Its humanist milieu developed thanks to its university and parliament, which trained and attracted intellectual elites. The wealth generated by this culturally and economically dynamic environment is the source of the superb Renaissance mansions in Toulouse. In 1550

6496-414: The city for fifteen days. After this dramatic event, King Louis XIII exempted the city from taxes for 100 years. The capitouls issued municipal decrees favouring the use of brick in buildings, rather than excessively flammable wood or cob. In the 16th century, and until 1562, the economy of Toulouse experienced a golden age: its Parliament made it the judicial capital of a large part of southern France, and

6612-439: The city is presented as propitious to the arts and letters. Around the year 250, Toulouse was marked by the martyrdom of Saturnin , the first bishop of Toulouse. This episode illustrates the difficult beginnings of Christianity in Roman Gaul. In the 5th century, Toulouse fell to the Visigothic kingdom and became one of its major cities, even serving as its capital , before it fell to the Franks under Clovis in 507 during

6728-420: The city militarily as well as the ascendancy that its counts had over it. The Duke William IX of Aquitaine challenged the possession of the city on the grounds that it should have been inherited by his wife Philippa (daughter of the previous count of Toulouse , whereas Raymond IV was only his brother). More than 50 years later his granddaughter Eleanor of Aquitaine still claimed the inheritance in vain. In

6844-501: 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). This has become

6960-421: The city was the key stronghold of the French defence in the south of France during the worst years of the Hundred Years' War, when the English troops from Aquitaine had taken Montauban and only Toulouse remained as an obstacle to their conquest of southern France. This military threat to the city and especially to the surrounding countryside was not conducive to its development, despite the strengthening of ties with

7076-473: The city's population. In 1963, Toulouse was chosen to become one of the country's eight "balancing Metropolis", regaining a position among the country's major cities that it had always had, but lost in the 19th century. The French state then encouraged the city's specialisation in aeronautics and space activities, sectors that had experienced strong growth in recent decades, fueling economic and population growth. On 21 September 2001, an explosion occurred at

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7192-404: The course of the Garonne River and divides the basin into a relatively shallow northern platform, the so-called Aquitaine Plateau , and into a much deeper, tightly folded, southern region. The tabular platform in the north contains only a much reduced sedimentary succession that is gently undulating and occasionally faulted . The folding intensity in the southern region increases steadily towards

7308-507: The designation overseas regions dates only to the 2003 constitutional change; indeed, the new wording of the constitution aims to give no precedence to either appellation overseas department or overseas region , although the second is still virtually unused by French media. The following have overseas region status: General: Toulouse Toulouse ( / t uː ˈ l uː z / too- LOOZ ; French: [tuluz] ; Occitan : Tolosa [tuˈluzɔ] )

7424-406: The east. The sediments in the Aturian Gulf (Golfe Aturién) in the west are pelagic limestones containing globigerinids , operculinids , and alveolinids . Near the Petits Pyrénées, the sediments change into shallow-water facies rich in madreporians , echinids, and operculinids. Farther east in the Ariège and in the Corbières Massif , the sediments become totally continental and lacustrine. In

7540-416: The end of the Upper Cretaceous, there are signs of the start of a regression and the sea then actually retreats before the K/T boundary. In the Subpyrenean Basin near the Petits Pyrénées , the sea lingers on till the lowermost Paleocene ( Danian ). In the remainder of the Aquitaine Basin, mainly pelagic limestones ( chalk facies) are sedimented during the Upper Cretaceous, including the type localities for

7656-409: The establishment of colleges in the university towns of southern France, not only Toulouse but also Montpellier, Cahors and Avignon. The Black Death in 1348, then the Hundred Years' War caused a major crisis that lasted until the following century. Despite strong immigration, the population lost more than 10,000 inhabitants in 70 years. By 1405 Toulouse had only 19,000 people. In these hardships,

7772-453: The famous Aéropostale , a pioneering airmail company based in Toulouse and whose epics were popularised by the novels of writers such as Joseph Kessel and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (himself an Aéropostale pilot). In the 1920s and 1930s the rise of the Toulouse population was increased by the arrival of Italians and Spaniards fleeing the fascist regimes of their country. Then, in the early 1960s, French repatriates from Algeria swelled

7888-402: The famous Bernard de Ventadour , expert in singing courtly love . In 1096, Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse , left with his army at the call of the Pope Urban II to join the First Crusade , of which he was one of the main leaders. This exodus of its warriors and nobles, reinforced by the creation of the faraway County of Tripoli by Raymond IV at the beginning of the 12th century, weakened

8004-419: The fans, lakes formed, precipitating lacustrine limestones. The detrital sediments with provenance from the meanwhile strongly eroded Massif Central (muds, sands, gravels) then affected only a small fringe zone in the northeast. In the Périgord and in the Quercy, the Sidérolithique accumulated—iron-rich sediments that resemble laterites indicating a subtropical climate. During the Upper Eocene ( Priabonian ),

8120-439: The fifth. In 2014, the French parliament passed a law reducing the number of metropolitan regions from 22 to 13 effective 1 January 2016. The law gave interim names for most of the new regions by combining the names of the former regions, e.g. the region composed of Aquitaine , Poitou-Charentes and Limousin was temporarily called Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes . However, the combined region of Upper and Lower Normandy

8236-497: The following can be cited: The development of the Gironde estuary goes back about 20,000 years into the late Würm. Finally, the rich prehistoric finds and their sites in the Aquitaine Basin merit mentioning, especially in the Département Dordogne . Regions of France France is divided into eighteen administrative regions ( French : régions , singular région [ʁeʒjɔ̃] ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while

8352-450: The heads of wealthy regions such as Île-de-France or Rhône-Alpes can be high-profile positions. Proposals to give regions limited legislative autonomy have met with considerable resistance; others propose transferring certain powers from the departments to their respective regions, leaving the former with limited authority. Number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1986 . Overseas region ( French : Région d'outre-mer )

8468-454: The immediate vicinity of the Pyrenean mountain front and created the alluvial fans of Ger , Orignac - Cieutat , and Lannemezan . The drainage system of the Garonne already resembled more or less today's pattern, the river avoiding the Miocene gravel accumulations as much as possible and then following between Toulouse, Agen and Bordeaux a weekly subsiding graben. The progressive landfall of

8584-548: The import of olive oil, wine and other goods from the Mediterranean regions. In the 18th century, Toulouse was a provincial capital that prided itself on its royal academies (the only city in France, along with Paris, to have three royal academies), but sometimes seemed far removed from the debates of ideas that agitated the Enlightenment . A famous example illustrates this backwardness of Toulouse mentalities of

8700-628: The lacustrine band reached as far south as the Armagnac . The Upper Miocene ( Tortonian and Messinian ) witnessed a drastic withdrawal of the sea to the west. This process started first in the Bordelais and in the Bazadais , ending with a nearly complete withdrawal from the basin. In areas left behind by the sea in the Armagnac, unfossiliferous sands and muds were deposited. At the same time in

8816-684: The late Tithonian with dolomites and breccias in the Adour Basin , evaporites in the Charente , extremely littoral sediments in the Quercy, lacustrine limestones in the Parentis Basin, and anhydrites in the Gers . The seaways that had opened in the Lias closed again and a single reef persisted in the Périgord at La Tour-Blanche . In the end, the sea withdrew south of the Garonne River. In

8932-582: The line Arcachon– Toulouse . The sediments are typically germanotype in character, i.e. very similar to the Triassic succession in Germany . In the north of the Aquitanian plateau, only a continental Upper Triassic is preserved. In the south, the sediments are marine and show their full development. The Triassic marine transgression probably invaded the southern Aquitaine Basin from the southeast or from

9048-442: The metropolitan areas of Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Lille, but ahead of the metropolitan area of Bordeaux, which the Toulouse metropolitan area passed in population in the 1990s. A local Jewish group estimates there are about 2,500 Jewish families in Toulouse. A Muslim association has estimated there are some 35,000 Muslims in town. The Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse ( Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Toulouse )

9164-490: The most important in France. The population of the city proper (French: commune ) was 498,003 at the January 2020 census, with 1,470,899 inhabitants in the metropolitan area , up from 1,268,438 at the January 2009 census. Thus, the metropolitan area registered a population growth rate of +1.36% per year between 2009 and 2020, the third-highest growth rate of any French metropolitan area larger than 500,000 inhabitants in France, after Montpellier and Bordeaux , although it

9280-567: The north and in the east, today's river network draining the Massif Central was already being beginning to form. During the Pliocene ( Zanclean ), the sea occupied merely a small strip near the Arcachon Basin south of Soustons . Sandy shales very rich in a benthic microfauna were deposited. In the rest of the Aquitaine Basin, continental sands were laid down, the so-called Sables fauves . The alluvial fans restricted their activity to

9396-516: The north of France, justice followed written Roman law and the nobles were highly educated. This was the time of the troubadours who wrote their poetry in Occitan (called "Provençal" at the time), then one of the most sophisticated languages in Europe. Like the other great lords of the Midi , the counts of Toulouse maintained and favoured these poets, this is how Count Raymond V employed for some time

9512-648: The northeast, the basin is connected to the Paris Basin . In the far north, the basin abuts the east–west-oriented Variscan basement of the Vendée , the southernmost part of the Armorican Massif . The Aquitaine Basin is a very asymmetric foreland basin . It reaches its deepest part of 11 km just in front of the North Pyrenean Thrust . The 2,000 m isobath follows more or less

9628-619: The one that ended with Charles Martel 's victory at the Battle of Tours , also called the Battle of Poitiers). The Frankish conquest of Septimania followed in the 750s, and a quasi-independent County of Toulouse emerged within the Carolingian sub-kingdom of Aquitaine by the late 8th century. The Battle of Toulouse of 844 , pitting Charles the Bald against Pepin II of Aquitaine , was key in

9744-500: The other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collectivities , which have a semi-autonomous status). All of the thirteen metropolitan administrative regions (including Corsica as of 2019 ) are further subdivided into two to thirteen administrative departments , with the prefect of each region's administrative centre's department also acting as the regional prefect. The overseas regions administratively consist of only one department each and hence also have

9860-586: The other. Finally, a late intervention by King Louis VIII of France in 1226 tipped the balance in favour of the crusaders, resulting in the submission of Count Raymond VII to the French Crown and the end of the independence of the County of Toulouse. But beyond the military crusade, this struggle took on several important aspects for the city of Toulouse: In 1271, Joan of Toulouse and her husband Alphonse of Poitiers died without heirs. Toulouse, which since

9976-490: The population of the city made it the second or third largest city in France. It was estimated to have 50,000 inhabitants, a figure it would not regain until the 18th century. In 1562, the French Wars of Religion began and Toulouse became an ultra-Catholic stronghold in a predominantly Protestant region, the era of economic prosperity came to an end. The governor of Languedoc, Henri II de Montmorency , who had rebelled,

10092-535: The royalty that it entailed. In 1369, pope Urban V attributed to the Dominican church of the Jacobins of Toulouse the bones of the Dominican theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas , perhaps to honor the city that had been the cradle of the Dominican order at the beginning of the previous century. The political and economic situation improved by the middle of the 15th century. In 1443 King Charles VII established

10208-504: The sea attained its highstand. It was rimmed completely by continental deposits whose thickness increased towards the southeast. For the first time, the alluvial fans along the Pyrenean front receded, the reason being increased subsidence in front of the orogen; yet they still stretched as far north as the Agenais. The retreat of the alluvial fans also continued during the Middle Miocene ( Langhian and Serravallian ). Consequently,

10324-539: The sea level started dropping. Northern Aquitaine became emersed and the sea withdrew in stages southward to the line Arcachon-Toulouse. At the same time, the northern edge of the basin experienced another folding episode with low-amplitude folds striking northwest–southeast. During the Paleocene , the coastline roughly followed the line Arcachon-Toulouse. In the North Aquitaine Zone north of this line,

10440-496: The second parliament of France after that of Paris. Reinforcing its place as an administrative and judicial center, the city grew richer, participating in the trade of Bordeaux wine with England, as well as cereals and textiles. A major source of income was the production and export of pastel , a blue dye made from woad . Toulouse suffered several fires, but it was in 1463 that the Great Fire of Toulouse broke out, ravaging

10556-575: The sediments possess continental character – red mudstones, sands, and lacustrine limestones. The sea made a short-lived advance into this domain and left echinid -bearing limestones behind. In the Central Aquitaine Zone (northern half of the southern basin), a shelf built out to the line Audignon -Carcassonne. Farther south in the South Aquitaine Zone , deep water conditions prevailed in the west, shallowing out towards

10672-487: The shore, they bear oysters, urchins , and ripple marks . The second sequence of the Malm starts in the Upper Kimmeridgian, only in places does it show regressive traits, nevertheless the sedimentary character changes. Laid down are breccias and the sediments also show synsedimentary reworkings; periodically interbedded limestones and marls carrying lignite horizons begin to form. The sediments can be dated by

10788-466: The shrinkage of the basin became even more evident, only to end in a nearly complete withdrawal of the sea from the Aquitaine Plateau before the close of the Tithonian (the south is not affected by this). During the Tithonian, iron-bearing calcareous oolites interbedded with marls, as well as dolomite and border facies deposits develop—dated by Gravesia portlandicum . In comparison with the Jurassic,

10904-496: The south (from the Tethys ) via the then still immersed Pyrenean region. The sediments indicate a restricted shallow marine environment with drying-up periods that created evaporites. The Triassic sediments can attain a maximum thickness of 1,000 m and reach as far north as the line Garonne estuary – Brive . The entirely marine Jurassic cycle can be subdivided into seven second-order sequences bounded by unconformities , three in

11020-590: The south with marls and sands rich in nummulites, lamellibranchs , and echinids. The anomiid -bearing limestones of the southern Médoc are lagoonal deposits. After a short-lived advance at the beginning of the Chattian with seastar -bearing limestones in the northern Médoc and in the Libournais and with mammal-bearing molasses in the Agenais, the sea made a big retreat at the end of the Oligocene. This retreat

11136-455: The south, dolomites continue to be deposited. The sequence finishes in the Callovian with littoral border-facies deposits. The facies dividing reef-zone persists into the Malm . In the western domain, initially ammonite-bearing marls and limestones were deposited, whereas in the eastern domain the sediments are calcareous dolomites. The retreat of the Jurassic sea became noticeable during

11252-514: The south, the structures being further complicated by superimposed salt diapirism . This somewhat simplified structural subdivision gets complicated by the Parentis Basin which extends out into the Atlantic. The Parentis Basin is situated in the Golfe de Gascogne and also reaches 11 km depth; it is a symmetrical basin oriented east–west and comes ashore near Arcachon . This sub-basin

11368-591: The southeast, the basin reaches the Seuil de Naurouze (also called Seuil du Lauragais ) between the Montagne Noire on its northern side and the Mouthoumet range in the south. Just west of Narbonne , the basin is overridden by Pyrenean thrusts . The northeastern boundary of the basin is formed by the arcuate basement outcrops of the Massif Central . Via the 100 km wide Seuil du Poitou in

11484-592: The southern part of the Aquitanian basin, the evaporite deposition (including layers of anhydrite ) begun in the Triassic carries on right through the Lias; it reaches a thickness of up to 500 m. The Dogger attains a maximum thickness of about 300 m along a north–south-trending zone running from Angoulême to Tarbes . Along this zone reefs began to grow, splitting the Aquitaine Basin into two major facies domains. Prominent reef complexes are situated east of Angoulême, northwest of Périgueux and east of Pau . The reefs are associated with calcareous oolites and mark

11600-502: The status of overseas departments. Most administrative regions also have the status of regional territorial collectivities , which comes with a local government , with departmental and communal collectivities below the region level. The exceptions are Corsica, French Guiana , Mayotte and Martinique , where region and department functions are managed by single local governments having consolidated jurisdiction and which are known as single territorial collectivities . The term région

11716-613: The time: in 1762 its powerful parliament sentenced Jean Calas to death. The philosopher Voltaire then accused the Parlement of Toulouse of religious intolerance (Calas was a Protestant), gave the affair a European repercussion and succeeded in having the judgment of the parliament quashed by the King's Council, which did much damage to the reputation of the parliament. It was on this occasion that Voltaire published one of his major philosophical works: his famous Treatise on Tolerance . With

11832-473: The treaty of 1229 had been subordinate to the kingdom of France , no longer had a count and was annexed to the royal domain . The installation of numerous royal officers and the development of trade and crafts, which favoured the social ascension of merchants, renewed the city's elites. In 1298, King Philip the Fair greatly facilitated the possibility of ennobling the capitouls, whose council, renewed every year,

11948-577: The university, they have turned Toulouse into the fourth-largest student city in France, with a university population of nearly 140,000 students. Toulouse counts three UNESCO World Heritage Sites : the Canal du Midi (designated in 1996 and shared with other cities), and the Basilica of St. Sernin , the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe, designated in 1998 along with the former hospital Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques because of their significance to

12064-663: Was a central point for trade between the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic since at least the Iron Age . The historical name of the city, Tolosa (Τολῶσσα in Greek , and of its inhabitants, the Tolosates , first recorded in the 2nd century BC), is of unknown meaning or origin, possibly from Aquitanian or Iberian , but it has also been connected to the name of the Gaulish Volcae Tectosages , or to

12180-458: Was accompanied by tectonic movements creating trains of deeper-seated anticlines in the central and northern Aquitaine Basin. The debris-carrying alluvial fans issuing from the rising Pyrenees reached into the Agenais and attained their largest extent. They pushed the surrounding belt of lakes ahead of them (in northerly directions) thereby spreading lacustrine limestones well into the Quercy, onto

12296-544: Was an oppidum to the banks of the Garonne, which were more suitable for trade. In the second half of the 1st century, the emperor Domitian distinguished Toulouse by placing it under the patronage of the goddess Pallas Athena , so that the Latin poets Martial , Ausonius and Sidonius Apollinaris called the city Palladia Tolosa (Palladian Toulouse), a term that was still used in the Renaissance and even today when

12412-512: Was at the center of a large cereal-growing plain, was distinguished by its numerous mills that took advantage of the force of the Garonne, among which the Bazacle Milling Company was the first recorded European joint-stock company. At the beginning of the thirteenth century the County of Toulouse was caught up in another crusade that would last twenty years (1209-1229), of which it was the target this time. The reason for this

12528-470: 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 fewer powers than the current council. It combines the city of Toulouse and 24 independent communes , covering an area of 380 km (147 sq mi), totalling a population of 583,229 inhabitants (as of 1999 census), 67% of whom live in

12644-465: Was executed in 1632 in the Capitole in the presence of King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu . In 1666, Pierre-Paul Riquet started the construction of the Canal du Midi which links Toulouse to the Mediterranean Sea, and is considered one of the greatest construction works of the 17th century. Completed in 1681, the canal stimulated the economy of Toulouse by promoting the export of cereals and

12760-575: Was increasingly made up of rich merchants. The first half of the 14th century was a prosperous period, despite the dismemberment in 1317 of the very large bishopric of Toulouse (which lost two thirds of its area and a large part of its income, a loss only partially compensated by its elevation to the rank of archbishopric), and the episode of the Shepherds' Crusade which brought a pogrom against Toulouse's Jewish population in 1320. In 1335, Toulouse had between 35,000 and 40,000 inhabitants. In 1323,

12876-402: Was no real industrial revolution in 19th century Toulouse. The most important industries were the gunpowder factory, to meet military needs, and the tobacco factory. In 1856 the railway arrived in Toulouse and the city was modernised: the ramparts were replaced by large boulevards, and major avenues such as the rue d'Alsace-Lorraine and the rue de Metz opened up the historic centre. In 1875,

12992-527: Was officially created by the Law of Decentralisation (2 March 1982), which also gave regions their legal status. The first direct elections for regional representatives took place on 16 March 1986. Between 1982 and 2015, there were 22 regions in Metropolitan France. Before 2011, there were four overseas regions ( French Guiana , Guadeloupe , Martinique , and Réunion ); in 2011 Mayotte became

13108-580: Was simply called "Normandy" ( Normandie ). Permanent names were proposed by the new regional councils by 1 July 2016 and new names confirmed by the Conseil d'État by 30 September 2016. The legislation defining the new regions also allowed the Centre region to officially change its name to " Centre-Val de Loire " with effect from January 2015. Two regions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté , opted to retain their interim names. Given below

13224-521: Was slightly lower than the growth rate registered between the 1990 and 2009 censuses. Toulouse is the fourth most populated city in France, after Paris , Marseille and Lyon , and the fifth most populated metropolitan area after Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Lille . Fueled by booming aerospace and high-tech industries, the Toulouse metropolitan area's population grew by 57.3% between the 1990 and 2020 censuses (within its 2020 borders), which means +1.52% per year on average during those 30 years, compared with

13340-496: Was the development of Catharism in the south of France, which the Pope Innocent III wanted to eradicate by all possible means. After an initial victory of the crusaders led by Simon de Montfort who defeated the combined forces of Count Raymond VI of Toulouse and King Peter II of Aragon at the Battle of Muret , the following years saw the fate of the county of Toulouse swing alternately in favour of one party or

13456-757: Was transformed into the Royal Academy of the Floral Games ( Académie des Jeux Floraux ), still active today, by king Louis XIV . The 14th century also saw a significant increase in the influence of the University of Toulouse, particularly following the move of the papacy from Rome to Avignon. Many law graduates from the University of Toulouse had brilliant careers in the Avignon curia , several became cardinals and three became popes: John XXII , Innocent VI and Urban V . These powerful prelates financed

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