Last modified: 2009-10-02 by ivan sache
Keywords: centre | centre-val de loire |
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Departments: Cher,
Eure-et-Loir,
Indre,
Indre-et-Loire,
Loiret,
Loir-et-Cher
Bordering Regions: Auvergne,
Bourgogne,
Basse-Normandie,
Haute-Normandie,
Île-de-France,
Limousin, Pays de
la Loire, Poitou-Charentes
Traditional provinces: Anjou,
Berry,
Bourbonnais,
Maine,
Marche,
Île-de-France,
Orléanais,
Poitou,
Touraine
Area: 39,151 km2
Population (1995): 2,433,200 inhabitants
Regional prefecture:
Orléans
The Regional Council of Centre decided to change the name of the Region to Centre-Val de Loire. The official adoption of the new name, by Law, required the preliminary approval by all the Region's departments and all the other Regions. Region Pays de la Loire rejected the new name, claiming "Loire" to belong to them. Accordingly the Ministry of the Interior a classé définitivement le dossier (definitively stopped the procedure of changing the name).
The Tourism Bureau of the Region Centre has decided, however, to use the rejected name of on its papers, posters, pamphlets, etc. According to the PR department of the Council, the results was astonishing, American and Japanese people understanding then that the Châteaux de la Loire (castles in the Loire valley) are in the Region Centre because of the use of the word Loire.
A mistake was indeed made when names were assigned to the Regions. Pays de la Loire should not have been giben such a name, since
River Loire waters only two departments on five of the
Region, whereas the river is watering four departments in the
Region Centre, which should have got this name.
Pascal Vagnat, 20 January 1999