Champagne-Ardenne

Champagne-Ardenne is a former administrative region of France, located in the northeast of the country, bordering Belgium. Mostly corresponding to the historic province of Champagne, the region is known for its sparkling white wine of the same name.

WWW cr-champagne-ardenne.fr

History

The administrative region was formed in 1956, consisting of the four departments Aube, Ardennes, Haute-Marne, and Marne. On 1 January 2016, it merged with the neighboring regions of Alsace and Lorraine to form the new region Grand Est, thereby ceasing to exist as an independent entity.

Geography

Its rivers, most of which flow west, include the Seine, the Marne, and the Aisne. The Meuse flows north.

Transportation

Highways

A4 connecting Paris and Strasbourg and serving the Reims metropolitan area
A5 connecting Paris and Dijon and serving Troyes and Chaumont
A26 connecting Calais and Troyes and serving Reims and Châlons-en-Champagne
A34 connecting Reims and the Belgian border and serving Charleville-Mézières

Rail

The rail network includes the Paris–Strasbourg line, which follows the Marne Valley and serves Épernay, Châlons-en-Champagne, and Vitry-le-François. The LGV Est TGV line also connecting Paris and Strasbourg opened in 2007 and serves Reims with a train station in the commune of Bezannes.

Water

The region's canals include the Canal latéral à la Marne and Marne-Rhine Canal, the latter connecting to the Marne at Vitry-le-François. These are petit gabarit canals.

Air

The Vatry International Airport, primarily dedicated to air freight, has a runway long. The airport is in a sparsely populated area just from Paris.

Economy

61.4% of its land is dedicated to agriculture
1st in France for the production of barley and alfalfa
2nd in France for the production of beets, onions, and peas
3rd in France for the production of tender wheat and rapeseed.
282.37 km² of vineyards
Champagne sales in 2001: 263 million bottles of which 37.6% were exported.
25% of French hosiery production
3rd metallurgic region in France

Businesses

Verreries Mécaniques de Champagne
Produits Métallurgiques à Reims
Vallou

Food processing

Champagne-Céréales
France-Luzerne
Béghin-Say

Demographics

The population of Champagne-Ardenne has been in steady decrease since 1982 due to a rural exodus. With 1.3 million people and a density of 52/km², it is one of France's least populated regions. After a brief period of stabilization in the 1990s, the region's population is now among the fastest "dying" in Europe, with several municipalities losing people at a faster rate than many Eastern European areas, especially in the department of Haute-Marne. The region is among the oldest in France, has a weak fertility rate, and its immigrant population is minimal compared to the national average.