Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; French: [ovɛʁɲ ʁon alp] ⓘ) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into effect on 1 January 2016, after the regional elections in December 2015.
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
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Region | |
Lake Annecy in the French Alps | |
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Flag Coat of arms | |
| Country | France |
| Prefecture | Lyon |
| Departments | 13 (12 normal departments, and 1 metropolis)
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| Government | |
| • President of the Regional Council | Laurent Wauquiez (LR) |
| • Prefect | Pascal Mailhos |
| Area | |
| • Total | 69,711 km2 (26,916 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 4th |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Total | 8,114,361 |
| • Density | 120/km2 (300/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Auvergnat / Rhônalpin Aurhalpin (rare & non-official) |
| GDP | |
| • Total | €290.877 billion |
| • Per capita | €36,500 |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | FR-ARA |
| Website | auvergnerhonealpes |
The region covers an area of 69,711 km2 (26,916 sq mi), making it the third largest in metropolitan France; it had a population of 7,994,459 in 2018, second to Île-de-France. It consists of twelve departments and one territorial collectivity (Lyon Metropolis) with Lyon as the prefecture.
This region combines diverse geographical, sociological, economic and cultural regions, which was already true of Rhône-Alpes, as well as Auvergne, to a lesser extent. While the old Rhône-Alpes and Auvergne regions each enjoyed a unity defined by axes of communication and the pull of their respective metropoles, the new combination is heterogeneous; it sustained lively opposition from some local officials after its creation.