Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées (French pronunciation: [midi piʁene] ⓘ; Occitan: Miègjorn-Pirenèus [mjɛdˈdʒuɾ piɾeˈnɛws] or Mieidia-Pirenèus [mjejˈði.ɔ piɾeˈnɛws]; Spanish: Mediodía-Pirineos) is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Occitania. It was the largest region of Metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark.
Midi-Pyrénées | |
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Flag Coat of arms | |
| Country | France |
| Dissolved | 1 January 2016 |
| Prefecture | Toulouse |
| Departments | 8
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| Government | |
| • President | Martin Malvy (PS) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 45,348 km2 (17,509 sq mi) |
| Population (1 January 2012) | |
| • Total | 2,926,592 |
| • Density | 65/km2 (170/sq mi) |
| Gross Regional Product | |
| • Total | €100.029 billion |
| • Per capita | €32,800 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | FR-N |
| NUTS Region | FR6 |
| Website | Midi-Pyrenees Region |
Midi-Pyrénées has no historical or geographical unity. It is one of the regions of France created in the late 20th century to serve as a hinterland and zone of influence for its capital, Toulouse, one of a handful of so-called "balancing metropolises" (métropoles d'équilibre). Another example of this is the region of Rhône-Alpes which was created as the region for Lyon.