Cher (department)
Department of France
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cher (/ʃɛər/ SHAIR; French: [ʃɛʁ] ⓘ; Berrichon: Char) is a department in central France, part of the Centre-Val de Loire region. Named after the river Cher, its prefecture is Bourges. In 2023, it had a population of 298,660.[3]
Cher
Char | |
|---|---|
 Prefecture building in Bourges | |
 Flag | |
 Location of Cher in France | |
| Coordinates: 47°0′N 2°35′E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Centre-Val de Loire |
| Prefecture | Bourges |
| Subprefectures | Saint-Amand-Montrond Vierzon |
| Government | |
| • President of the Departmental Council | Jacques Fleury[1] (LR) |
| Area | |
• Total | 7,235 km2 (2,793 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | |
• Total | 298,660 |
| • Rank | 76th |
| • Density | 41.28/km2 (106.9/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Department number | 18 |
| Arrondissements | 3 |
| Cantons | 19 |
| Communes | 286 |
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | |
History
Cher is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. Most of it was created, along with the adjacent department of Indre from the former province of Berry. The southeastern corner of the department, however, was part of the Duchy of Bourbon.
Geography
The department is part of the current administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire. It is surrounded by the departments of Indre, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret, Nièvre, Allier, and Creuse.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Bourges, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 7 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:[4]
| Commune | Population (2023) |
|---|---|
| Bourges | 64,186 |
| Vierzon | 25,068 |
| Saint-Amand-Montrond | 9,899 |
| Saint-Doulchard | 9,647 |
| Saint-Florent-sur-Cher | 6,463 |
| Mehun-sur-Yèvre | 6,380 |
| Aubigny-sur-Nère | 5,451 |
Demographics
The inhabitants of the department are called Chériens or Berrichons in French after the former province of Berry.[5]
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Politics
The President of the General Council is Jacques Fleury of The Republicans, elected in July 2021.[7]
| Party | seats | |
|---|---|---|
| Union for a Popular Movement | 10 | |
| • | Socialist Party | 9 |
| • | French Communist Party | 7 |
| Miscellaneous Right | 5 | |
| • | Miscellaneous Left | 4 |
Current National Assembly representatives
| Constituency | Member[8] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | François Cormier-Bouligeon | Renaissance | |
| 2nd | Nicolas Sansu | PCF | |
| 3rd | Loïc Kervran | Horizons | |
Tourism
Languages
The historical languages are Berrichon and the northern version of Bourbonnais. These are both dialects of French, or the Langues d'oïl. They are named respectively after the former Province of Berry and the former Duchy of Bourbon. Some 11 communes in the extreme South used to speak Occitan.
The old dialects were in widespread use until the middle decades of the twentieth century and incorporated major regional variations within the department, influenced by the dialects of adjacent regions near the departmental frontiers. During the twentieth century government educational policy promoted a more standardised version of the French language.
In the extreme south of the department influence from the southern Occitan language begins to appear, with "chambrat" being used in place of "grenier a foin" (hayloft), "betoulle" in place of "bouleau" (birch tree) and "aigue" in place of "eau" (water).