PRESENTATION OF OUR DEPARTMENT:
The Western Pyreneans
ADMINISTRATIVE SITUATION:
County Town: Perpignan
Three districts:
CERET: 66 624 inhabitants
PERPIGNAN : 287 272 inhabitants
PRADES: 38 907 inhabitants
31 districts and 266 municipalities
GEOGRAPHY:
The department of the Western Pyreneans, 4116 km2, is bordered on the east by the
Mediterranean sea and on the south by the Pyrenean mountains. It is composed of three areas:
- A mountainous area formed by the foothills of the
Pyrenees , which includes Cerdagne and Capcir.
- A foothill and its three valleys that cross the
Pyrenees from West to East: the Vallespir which runs into the Tech, the Conflent the bed of the Tet river and the Agly valley.
- A plain in the center and in the East, bordered by the Salanque area, in the north by the Fenouillèdes and the Corbières and in the south by the Aspres and the Albères areas.
ECONOMY:
In the 2nd quarter 2006, the unemployment rate stood at 11.9%. This rate is the lowest recorded since 1991.The economic activity in the department is due to agriculture (wines, fruits and vegetables), tourism (2 million tourists per year), local handicrafts and trade.
ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES:
Members of Parliament: 6
Regional Concillors: 12
General Concillors: 31
Mayors: 226
