Before 2018, the inhabitants of the department did not have a demonym. The inhabitants of the department have officially been known in French asBourbonnais since 2018, a reference to the historic province ofBourbonnais. Until then, the unofficial termElavérins had been used.[7][8][9]
Allier department is composed of almost all of the formerDuchy of Bourbonnais. It is part of theAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes and it was part of the historical, cultural and administrative region ofAuvergne until 2016.
The most populous commune isMontluçon; the prefectureMoulins is the third-most populous. As of 2021, there are 5 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:[6]
Bourbonnaisbocage covers most of the western and central parts of the department (including theForest of Tronçais), followed by the BourbonnaisSologne in the east north-east, the Bourbonnais Mountain (near Vichy) which is the highest point of Bourbonnais together with Montoncel (peaking at 1,287 metres), and finally in the south of the department, the BourbonnaisLimagne, which extends from Varennes to Gannat, and is the breadbasket of the department.
The Bourbonnais Bocage
To the north and just over 500 metres above sea level, the Bourbonnais Bocage occupies one-third of the department, with two parts: the centre and the west (for the part between the Val de Cher and western boundaries of the territory). The bocage is especially remarkable for its rich forests and woodlands including theForest of Tronçais but also the forests of Moladier Bagnolet, Civrais, Soulongis, Grosbois, Dreuille, Lespinasse and Suave.
Almost all of the southern area consists of Combrailles which is sometimes called High Bourbonnais, in an area that goes beyond the departmental boundaries of Creuse and Puy-de-Dôme. This area of the department rises to 778 metres at Bosse. The riversSioule,Bouble, andCher have carved the most picturesque gorges in Allier.
The Bourbonnais Sologne
To the east, between the Val d'Allier and the borders of Nièvre and Saône-et-Loire, the Bourbonnais Sologne has a nice balance between pastures, crops, woods and ponds: the balance between agriculture and semi-wilderness constituting a very favorable setting for fauna and flora.
The Bourbonnais Mountains
In its southern extension, the Bourbonnais Mountain rises from the Puy Saint-Ambroise (442 metres) nearSaint-Léon and then extends to the massif of Assise and the Black Woods at the edge ofPuy-de-Dôme andLoire which is marked by the Puy de Montoncel (1,287 metres) – the highest point in Allier.
The Bourbonnais Limagne
Commonly grouped under the name ofVal d'Allier, theLimagne and Forterre extend on both sides of the river betweenVichy andSaint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule with an essential quality of fertility. Limogne, together with Sioule and Allier, is part of the Gannat / Escurolles / Saint-Pourçain triangle while Forterre covers the Canton ofVarennes-sur-Allier ending near Jaligny.
A transition zone in the middle of the country, Allier is actually a free zone between north and south. The department is wide open to Atlantic influences and enjoys a mild and humid climate dominated by westerly winds which helps a little to differentiate it from other parts of Auvergne. The weather variances coincide with the diversity of Bourbonnais territory such as: flat regions, low altitude Bourbonnais Sologne and large floodplains, the hill country, the average altitude of 300 to 600 metres, the central part of the department, and the semi-mountainous southern townships bordering the Combraille and Forez between 700 and 1,200 metres.
There are two periods of maximum precipitation in June and October and a minimum in January and February with average of 694 millimetres inMontluçon (altitude 207 metres), 763 mm inMoulins (245 m), 778 mm inVichy (251 m), 791 mm inLapalisse (285 m) and nearly 1,200 mm in Assisi (1,050 m). As noted Atlantic winds are dominant from the west, northwest, or southwest. The influence of topography, especially in the valleys of Cher and Allier, also contributes to the south and north variance.
Comparison of local Meteorological data with other cities in France[10]
In 1940, thegovernment of MarshalPhilippe Pétain chose the town ofVichy as its capital. Vichy also became the department's secondsub-prefecture in 1940, since the department now found itself split by thedemarcation line between theoccupied and (relatively, at least initially) free zones ofFrance.
The arms of Allier are also those of the former province ofBourbonnais and are the arms of the third house of Bourbon ofRobert de Clermont, sixth son ofSaint Louis, who marriedBeatrice of Bourbon and was recognized as Sire of Bourbon in 1283.
Blazon: Azure, Semé-de-lis of Or with a bend of Gules.
On 1 January 2017 the population of Allier was estimated at 337,988 inhabitants which represented an average density of 46 people/km2.[12] Many areas have a density less than 20 people/km2. Because of its low population density, it is considered to fall within theempty diagonal.
Since the early 1980s Allier has faced many demographic handicaps. The ratio of older people is important and with low fertility rates the natural growth is negative. Net migration was negative between 1968 and 1999, and slightly positive between 1999 and 2017.[12]
Allier has three major cities:Montluçon,Vichy, andMoulins by size. The rest of the department includes some small towns and villages, scattered mainly along the rivers. The few villages are far from one another, and it is generally a sparsely populated department. Until the end of the 19th century, however, the population was increasing because the development of its cities (industries at Montluçon and Moulins, spas in Vichy) compensated the rural exodus. The department then passed 420,000 inhabitants. After losses of theFirst World War, the population stabilized and grew a little again in the 1960s. Since then, the continuing rural exodus and especially the decline of old industries has made the population decrease and age steadily, from 386,533 inhabitants in 1968 to 337,988 in 2017.
The population of the department is approximately equal of the country ofIceland.
Valérie Hatsch is prefect of Allier since 28 March 2022.[14]
Jean-Luc Marx, the prefect ofLot, was named the prefect of Allier on 1 June 2011, replacing Pierre Monzani who was appointed Prefect ofSeine-et-Marne on 25 May 2011.[15]
After 2020 Senate elections, the two senators of Allier are Bruno Rojouan andClaude Malhuret.[16]
In the Senate elections in 2008 the left took one of the two Senate seats in Allier formerly held by the right. Mireille Schurch,PCF Mayor ofLignerolles, was elected:
In the local elections of March 2008, Allier department was won by a majority of the left. The URB (Republican Union for Bourbonnais, right) had headed the department between 2001 and 2008, with the last year with only one vote majority. From 2008 the left coalition was in control also with a majority of one vote (10 PC, 6 PS, 2 PRG, 18 seats in total), facing 17 councilors from the URB.
The department was distinguished by communist votes in early voting which continued until after theSecond World War with the two major political parties of the left being thePCF and theSFIO which have now become the Socialist Party.
The small town ofCommentry has the distinction of being the first town in France[21] to elect a socialist mayor in 1882:Christophe Thivrier. Another local figure,Pierre Brizon, an MP in 1910, was typically a member for sharecroppers.[22]
Earlier, Ledru-Rollin achieved a very good result in 1848 (14%) with Democratic and socialist candidates in the following year (44% of the vote, against 35% for all of France).[23] Similarly, resistance to the coup of 2 December 1851 was important after an attempt to support the uprising in June 1849.[24] Republicans were in the majority in 1876 and held all six parliamentary seats.[21] After neighbouring results of 15% of enrolled voters from 1893 to 1906 the Socialists rose to 31% of enrolled votes (42% of those cast) in 1910 and maintained this in 1914[25]
Allier remains a land of rural communism (still 14.66% in the 2004 regional elections – the second best result for the party afterSomme) in a sometimes difficult cohabitation with the Socialist Party.
For the causes of their success it may be noted that historically Allier has been a department where vast properties were combined intosharecropping. Sharecropping only spread in the 15th century[26] and was not disturbed by the sale of national assets to the Revolution.[27] In the 19th century large properties (100 hectares or more) occupied about half of the land, and even more than 70% in the north of the department. In the south, small properties dominate.[27]
Sharecropping continued as a form of land development and it involved 40% of the land in 1892 (only 7% overall for France).[28] Adverse conditions made sharecroppers promote the creation of rural unions between 1904 and 1911 (the third greatest number per department in France afterHérault andLandes). Despite poor results the mobilization was important and promoted the election of left-wing candidates.[29]
The industries most represented are the food industry, wood and furniture, chemical, foundries and metalworking, rubber, machinery and electrical equipment, automotive, weaponry, textiles, building, and the spas.
According to studies byINSEE agriculture would be about 7 to 8% of departmental gross domestic product.
Marked by the imprint of theDukes of Bourbon, Allier is a land of rivers, bocage, and small mountains. Landscapes such as Bourbonnais bocage, the gorges of theSioule, and theForest of Tronçais are places suitable for the practice of outdoor activities:hiking,fishing, and white water sports. Hydrotherapy is one of the leading sectors of Bourbonnais tourism with the international spa at Vichy.
Thepâté aux pommes de terre is one of the specialities of the Allier, as well as of the neighboring Limousin region. The riverAllier is one of the rare places in Southern Europe where the freshwatergrayling (Thymallus thymallus), known in French asombre des rivières, occurs in a natural habitat.[30] This fish is much valued in French gastronomy for its fine and delicate texture and is best eaten along with a light wine.[31]
In 2020 the quantity of dwellings in the department which were second homes was 7.2%.[34] The table below shows the main communes of Allier with second homes and which exceed 10% of total housing.
The department has attracted many foreigners, English, Belgian, Swiss, and Dutch, and they have acquired many second homes. Therefore many communes have become "European", such asPouzy-Mésangy, which today has many English and Swiss residents.
Communes with population over 1,000 and more than 10% of second homes in 2019[35]
the area between the two, sometimes calledBourbon d'oc is part of theOccitan Crescent,[38] an area of mixing of French and Occitan considered by most linguists as Occitan with French pronunciation. Some[39] consider the speech of the Crescent to be a full Occitan dialect and use the termMarchois.
Qualifications:
Note that in the south-east of the department (notably in Forterre[40] and the Bourbonnais Mountain[41]) the influence of Francoprovencal arises.
Similarly, in the north-west (and especially in the old part of the Bourbonnais department ofCher toSaint-Amand-Montrond), the Bourbon dialects are close to theBerrichon dialect.
^"La préfète - Valérie HATSCH".allier.gouv.fr (in French). Prefecture of Allier. 31 March 2022. Archived fromthe original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved29 November 2022.
^"Les coopérations".Conseil Départemental de l'Allier. Retrieved7 April 2021.
^Charles de Tourtoulon and Octavien Bringuier (1876),Study on the geographical limits of Occitan and French (with a map), Paris: Imprimerie Nationale [reprinted 2004, Masseret-Meuzac: Institut d’Estudis Occitans de Lemosin/Lo Chamin de Sent Jaume](in French)
^Guylaine Brun-Trigaud (1990),The Crescent:the concept and the word. Contribution to the history of the French dialect of the 19th century (Thesis), coll. Série dialectologie, Lyon: Centre d’Études Linguistiques Jacques Goudet(in French)
^E.g. Nicolas Quint,The marchois speech of Saint-Priest-la-Feuille (Creuse)(in French)
^Marcel Bonin, (1981),The dialect of Langy and of Forterre (region of Varennes-sur-Allier), Cagnes sur Mer:Cahiers Bourbonnais(in French)
^Simone Escoffier (1958),The meeting of langue d’oïl, Occitan and francoprovençal between Loire and Allier: phonetic limits and morphologies (Thesis), Mâcon: impr. Protat [éd. identique de la même année: coll. Publications de l’Institut de Linguistique Romane de Lyon-vol. 11, Paris: Les Belles Lettres](in French)
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