Eure ( ; ; or ) is a department in the administrative region of Normandy, northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2023, Eure had a population of 602,714.
History Eure is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Normandy. The name in fact is taken from the Eure river flowing mainly in this department.
After the allied victory at Waterloo, Eure was occupied by Prussian troops between June 1815 and November 1818.
In the wake of Louis-Napoléon's December coup of 1851, Eure was one of the departments placed under a state of emergency in order to avert resistance to the post-republican régime. In the event fewer than 100 government opponents in Eure were arrested.Jacques Olivier Boudon, Les Bonaparte : regards sur la France impériale. La Documentation photographique, dossier 8073, janvier-février 2010, p. 11 (carte de Gilles Pécout)
Geography Eure is part of the current region of Normandy and is surrounded by the departments of Seine-Maritime, Oise, Val-d'Oise, Yvelines, Eure-et-Loir, Orne, and Calvados. It also has a short coastline within the Atlantic Ocean across the Seine estuary. It is the only Normand department to border the region of Île-de-France.
The department is a largely wooded plateau intersected by the valleys of the river Seine and its tributaries. The altitude varies from sea level in the north to 248 metres (814 feet) above it in the south.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Évreux, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 6 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:Populations de référence 2023: 27 Eure, INSEE
Commune Population (2023) Évreux 49,360 Vernon 25,290 Louviers 18,705 Val-de-Reuil 13,245 Gisors 12,410 Pont-Audemer 10,023
Demographics
Politics
The President of the Departmental Council is Sébastien Lecornu of La République En Marche!.
Party seats•Socialist Party 12Union for a Popular Movement 11•Miscellaneous Left 7•French Communist Party 4Miscellaneous Right 4New Centre 3•Left Radical Party 2
Presidential elections 2nd round ElectionWinning candidateParty%2nd place candidateParty%2022Emmanuel MacronLREM48.62Marine Le PenRN51.38 2017 Emmanuel Macron LREM 54.35 Marine Le Pen FN 45.65 2012 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 52.45 François Hollande PS 47.55 2007 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 57.37 Ségolène Royal PS 42.63 2002 Jacques Chirac RPR 78.22 Jean-Marie Le Pen FN 21.78
Current National Assembly Representatives
ConstituencyMemberParty Eure's 1st constituency Christine Loir National Rally Eure's 2nd constituency Katiana Levavasseur National Rally Eure's 3rd constituency Kévin Mauvieux National Rally Eure's 4th constituency Philippe Brun Socialist Party Eure's 5th constituency Timothée Houssin National Rally
Tourism The main tourist attraction is Giverny 4 km (2½ miles) from Vernon) where Claude Monet's house and garden can be seen, as well as other places of interest (see external links, below).
The Abbey of Bec and the Château-Gaillard near Les Andelys are other important tourist attractions.
The Château of Buisson de May was built by the royal architect Jacques Denis Antoine from 1781 to 1783.
See also Cantons of the Eure department Communes of the Eure department Arrondissements of the Eure department Château d'Harcourt Château de Gisors
References
External links Departmental Council website Prefecture website Eure Tourisme