Meurthe-et-Moselle (French pronunciation: [mœʁt e mɔzɛl] ⓘ, lit. 'Meurthe and Moselle') is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. Its prefecture and largest city is Nancy and it borders the departments of Meuse to the west, Vosges to the south, and Moselle and Bas-Rhin to the east, and it also borders the Belgian province of Luxembourg and the country of Luxembourg by the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette to the north. It had a population of 732,236 in 2023.[3]
Meurthe-et-Moselle | |
|---|---|
 Prefecture building of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department, in Nancy | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Meurthe-et-Moselle in France | |
| Coordinates: 48°40′N 06°10′E / 48.667°N 6.167°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Prefecture | Nancy |
| Subprefectures | Val de Briey Lunéville Toul |
| Government | |
| • President of the Departmental Council | Chaynesse Khirouni[1] (PS) |
| Area | |
• Total | 5,246 km2 (2,025 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | |
• Total | 732,236 |
| • Rank | 33rd |
| • Density | 139.6/km2 (361.5/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | FR-54 |
| Department number | 54 |
| Arrondissements | 4 |
| Cantons | 23 |
| Communes | 591 |
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | |
History
editMeurthe-et-Moselle was created in 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War from the parts of the former departments of Moselle and Meurthe which remained French territory.
The current boundary between Meurthe-et-Moselle and Moselle was the border between France and Germany from 1871 to 1919 and again between 1940 and 1944. The only subsequent change took place in 1997 and involved the incorporation, for administrative reasons, of the little commune of Han-devant-Pierrepont which had previously fallen within the Meuse department.[4]
Geography
editMeurthe-et-Moselle is part of the administrative region of Grand Est and the traditional region of Lorraine and is surrounded by the departments of Meuse, Vosges, Bas-Rhin, and Moselle, and by the nations of Luxembourg and Belgium by the salient of the arrondissement of Val-de-Briey. It is one of two departments in France which border with Luxembourg. Parts of Meurthe-et-Moselle belong to the Lorraine Regional Natural Park.
The department extends for 130 km from north to south and is between 7 and 103 km wide.
Its chief rivers are the Moselle, the Meurthe, the Chiers, and the Vezouze.
Economy
editThe economy was highly dependent on mining until the 1960s. There are iron, salt, and lime extraction sites. The urban area around Nancy has an economy based largely on services, research, and higher education.
Transport
editThe department is served by Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport which provides scheduled air service to several cities in France and some North African countries. However, other airports such as Luxembourg Airport and Strasbourg Airport are also used by air travellers from the department.
Demographics
editThe inhabitants of the department are known as Meurthe-et-Mosellans. The area around Nancy has become highly urbanized, whereas the Saintois in the south is quite rural.
Population development since 1801:
Historical population | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Figures before 1872 refer to the Meurthe department. Sources:[5][3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Principal towns
editThe most populous commune is Nancy, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 10 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:[6]
| Commune | Population (2023) |
|---|---|
| Nancy | 103,671 |
| Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy | 29,942 |
| Lunéville | 18,262 |
| Toul | 15,768 |
| Longwy | 15,679 |
| Laxou | 14,771 |
| Villers-lès-Nancy | 14,718 |
| Pont-à-Mousson | 14,190 |
| Villerupt | 10,102 |
| Maxéville | 10,090 |
Politics
editThe president of the Departmental Council is Chaynesse Khirouni, elected in July 2021.
Presidential elections 2nd round
edit| Election | Winning candidate | Party | % | 2nd place candidate | Party | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Emmanuel Macron | LREM | 54.42 | Marine Le Pen | FN | 45.58 | |
| 2017[7] | Emmanuel Macron | LREM | 60.66 | Marine Le Pen | FN | 39.34 | |
| 2012 | François Hollande | PS | 53.06 | Nicolas Sarkozy | UMP | 46.94 | |
| 2007 | Nicolas Sarkozy | UMP | 51.12 | Ségolène Royal | PS | 48.88 | |
| 2002[7] | Jacques Chirac | RPR | 81.72 | Jean-Marie Le Pen | FN | 18.28 | |
| 1995[8] | Lionel Jospin | PS | 51.99 | Jacques Chirac | RPR | 48.01 | |
Current National Assembly Representatives
editTourism
edit
Walls and cathedral of Toul
House near the château of Prény
General Lasalle monument in Lunéville
The river Moselle near Pont-à-Mousson
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
- ↑ "Populations de référence 2023" (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.
- 1 2 Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE
- ↑ Décret no 96-709 du 7 août 1996 portant modification des limites territoriales de départements, d'arrondissements et de cantons, Légifrance
- ↑ "Historique de Meurthe-et-Moselle". Le SPLAF.
- ↑ Populations de référence 2023: 54 Meurthe-et-Moselle, INSEE
- 1 2 "Présidentielles".
- ↑ "Résultats de l'élection présidentielle de 1995 par département - Politiquemania".
- ↑ Nationale, Assemblée. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale.
External links
edit
- Prefecture website (in French)
- Departmental council website Archived 13 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
- Tourism website (in French)