Centre-Val de Loire


Centre-Val de Loire or Centre Region, as it was known until 2015, is one of the 18 administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley in the interior of the country. The administrative capital is Orléans.

Naming and etymology

Like many contemporary regions of France, the region of Centre-Val de Loire was created from parts of three historical provinces: Touraine, Orléanais, and Berry, France. First, the name Centre was chosen by the French government purely on the basis of geography, in reference to its location in northwest-central France.
However, Centre is not situated in the geographical centre of France, and the name was criticized as being too dull and nondescript. Proposed names for the region included Val de Loire after the Loire Valley or Cœur de Loire. On 17 January 2015, as part of the reorganization of French regions, the region's official name was changed to Centre-Val de Loire. Val de Loire is associated with positive images of the Loire Valley, such as the châteaux of the Loire Valley, the gentle and refined lifestyle, the wine, and the mild and temperate climate, all of which attract many tourists to the region. A new logo was also created.

Geography

Bordering six other regions, Centre-Val-de-Loire borders the most of all 18 regions in France. The bordering regions are Normandy on the northwest, Île-de-France on the northeast, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté on the east, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on the southeast, Nouvelle-Aquitaine on the south and southwest, and Pays de la Loire on the west.

Departments

Centre-Val De Loire comprises 6 departments: Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret.

Largest cities

The Gross domestic product of the region was 72.4 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 3.1% of French economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 25,200 euros or 84% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 99% of the EU average.
An economic development agency, called Centréco, was created in 1994 by the Centre Regional Council of the Centre-Loire valley region to promote the inflow of investments and the establishment setting-up of new businesses French and foreign companies in the Centre region. This ensures a mission of economic promotion, international support to regional companies and enhancement promotion of regional agrofood products via a regional signature, © du Centre.

Gallery