Canton of Montréal, Gers

French canton
name=Canton of Montreal
reg=Midi-Pyrénées
dept=Gers
arr=Condom
numcomm=9
cheflieu=Montreal
cancode=32 21
pop=4,741
year=1999
area=241,62
dens=19,62The French canton of Montréal lies in the Gers which is itself a component of the region Midi-Pyrénées, in the area formerly called Gascony, southwest France. The canton lies around Montréal in the arrondissement of Condom, the altitudes vary between 64 m. at Fourcès and 186 m at Castelnau-d'Auzan with an average altitude of 143 m.

The canton is situated on the limits of the departements Lot-et-Garonne and Landes.

It is a very rurally agrarian area, practically without tourism, in the Armagnac-Ténarèze, exclusively confessed for its production of Armagnac, foie gras and Côtes de Gascogne wines.

Population and demography

The canton of Montréal counts 9 communes with a total surface of 240 km².

* Castelnau-d'Auzan 1.036;
* Cazeneuve 127;
* Fourcès 277;
* Gondrin 999;
* Labarrère 250;
* Lagraulet-du-Gers 381;
* Larroque-sur-l'Osse 226 ;
* Lauraët 207;
* Montréal 1.238.

Like in other communes in rural France the canton has to face an important decrease of population. In 1962 the canton had 5.938 citizens. At the last count of the population in 1999 only 4.741 inhabitants could be counted, which a decrease of 20% is. This decrease is still continuing.

Young people leave the area, the old stay behind.

This phenomenon started, as in many other rural areas during the War of 1914-1918. Many young men did not return home, with the consequences we still see to day. Lack of manpower changed the once wealthy and healthy pastoral area in a region where the population and wealth both decreased. New immigrants from Spain and Italy compensated partly the loss in population.

After the independence of Algeria, French farmers and winemakers returning to the motherland were encouraged to settle down in the Gers.

All these waves of immigrants now are completely integrated.

Due to the changes in the rural economics the last decade agricultural land and farms were put on the market and sold to newcomers from the north of Europe, looking for an active countryside way of life.

Gradually immigration changed, now a days retired people from the north European urban areas come to the Gers in search of idyllic homes for there retirement.

Character, monuments and history of the canton

Because of its landscapes and its vineyards the Gers is now and then called by some the "Tuscany of France". The summers are long and warm; the winters are warm and short.

In the neighbourhood are numerous old castles, little medieval walled villages, small cities built around castles and "sacred" places, because the Via Podiensis and the Way of St. James of Compostela are going through the Montréal and left their traces.

* The arena for the course Landaise for example in Castelnau-d'Auzan.
* Old Armagnac caves.
* The bastide of Bretagne-d'Armagnac.
* The Bastide Gasconne of Fourcès.
* The city of Montréal-du-Gers with a medieval bastide.
* The city of Eauze and its Roman treasure.
* The fortified village of Larressingle.
* The Gallo-Roman villa of Séviac, in Montréal-du-Gers.
* The Ganaderia de Buros.
* The museum of D'Artagnan in Lupiac.
* The Spa of Barbotan-les-Thermes in Cazaubon.

External information

* [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/RP99/rp99/co_navigation.co_page?nivgeo=P&theme=ALL&typeprod=ALL&codgeo=3221&quelcas=LISTE&lang=FR The canton of Montréal on the website of the Insee]
* [http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=43.950833&longitude=0.203056&zoom=6 Location of the canton of Montréal on Mapquest]
* [http://www.lion1906.com/Pages/ResultatLocalisation.php?InseeVille=320290 The canton of Montréal on the map of France]