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Grand Est
Region
Country	France
Prefecture	Strasbourg
Departments	10 Ardennes Aube Bas-Rhin Marne Haute-Marne Haut-Rhin Meurthe-et-Moselle Meuse Moselle Vosges
Government
• President	Jean Rottner (The Republicans)
Area
• Total	57,433 km2 (22,175 sq mi)
Population (2016)[1]
• Total	5,555,186
• Density	97/km2 (250/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	FR-GES
GDP (2013)	Ranked
Total	€150.3 billion (US$207.0 bn)
Per capita	€27,085 (US$37,312)
NUTS Region	FRF
Website	http://www.grandest.fr

Grand Est^[2] (French pronunciation: [ɡʁɑ̃t‿ɛst] (listen);
English: Great East, German: Großer Osten—both in the Alsatian and the Lorraine Franconian dialect), previously Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine (ACAL or less commonly, ALCA),^[3] is an administrative region in eastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions—Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine—on 1 January 2016, as a result of territorial reform which was passed by the French legislature in 2014.^[4][5] Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine was a provisional name, created by hyphenating the merged regions in alphabetical order; its regional council had to approve a new name for the region by 1 July 2016.^[5] France's Conseil d'État approved Grand Est as the new name of the region on 28 September 2016, effective 30 September 2016.^[6] The administrative capital and largest city is Strasbourg.

Toponymy

Provisional name

The provisional name of the region was Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine, which is formed by combining the names of the three present regions—Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine—in alphabetical order with hyphens. The formula for the provisional name of the region was established by the territorial reform law and applied to all but one of the provisional names for new regions.^[5] The ACAL regional council, which was elected in December 2015, was given the task of choosing a name for the region and submitting it to the Conseil d'État—France's highest authority for administrative law—by 1 July 2016 for approval.^[5][7] The provisional name of the region was retired on 30 September 2016, when the new name of the region, Grand Est, took effect.^[6]

In Alsace and in Lorraine, the new region has frequently been called ALCA, for Alsace-Lorraine-Champagne-Ardennes, on the internet.^[8]

Like the name Région Hauts-de-France (and, until 2015, the name Région Centre), the name Région Grand Est contains no reference whatsoever to the area's history or identity, but merely describes its geographical location within metropolitan France.

Permanent name

In a poll conducted in November 2014 by France 3 in Champagne-Ardenne, Grand Est (29.16%) and Austrasie (22.65%) were the top two names among 25 candidates and 4,701 votes.^[9] Grand Est also topped a poll the following month conducted by L'Est Républicain, receiving 42% of 3,324 votes.^[10]

The names which received a moderate amount of discussion were:

• 
  Grand Est, a term used to refer to the northeast quarter of Metropolitan France, although this term refers to a geographic region larger than just ACAL. The term has been commonly used and topped the polls mentioned above.


• 
  Grand Est Europe (Great East Europe), a variant of Grand Est that alludes to the region being a gateway to Europe both through trade and since Strasbourg is home to several European institutions (which makes it one of the three unofficial capitals of the European Union).^[11] However, the name was mocked for how it could suggest that the region is in Eastern Europe.^[12]
  


• 
  Austrasie (Austrasia), which refers to an historical region spanning parts of present-day northeast France, the Benelux, and northwest Germany.^[9][10]
  


• 
  Quatre frontières (Four Frontiers), which refers to the region's border with four countries.^[9]
  

Geography

Grand Est covers 57,433 square kilometres (22,175 sq mi) of land and is the sixth-largest of the regions of France. Grand Est borders four countries—Belgium (Wallonia region), Luxembourg (Cantons of Esch-sur-Alzette and Remich), Germany,^[13] and Switzerland^[14]—along its northern and eastern sides. It is the only French region to border more than two countries. To the west and south, it borders the French regions Hauts-de-France, Île-de-France, and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

Map of the new region with its ten départements, colored according to the historical provinces as they existed until 1790.

  Champagne

  Lorraine

  Alsace

  Barrois

  Three Bishoprics

  County of Saarwerden

  Principality of Salm-Salm

  Free County of Burgundy

  Prince-Bishopric of Liège

  Duchy of Luxemburg

  small principalities

Departments

Grand Est contains ten departments: Ardennes, Aube, Bas-Rhin, Marne, Haute-Marne, Haut-Rhin, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Vosges.

Topography

The main ranges in the region include the Vosges to the east and the Ardennes to the north.

Hydrology

The region is bordered on the east by the Rhine, which forms about half of the border with Germany. Other major rivers which flow through the region include the Meuse, Moselle, Marne, and Saône.

Lakes in the region include lac de Gérardmer, lac de Longemer, lac de Retournemer, lac des Corbeaux, Lac de Bouzey, lac de Madine, étang du Stock and lac de Pierre-Percée.

Climate

Grand Est climate depends of the proximity of the sea. In Champagne and Western Lorraine, the climate is oceanic, with mild winters and mild summers. But Moselle and Alsace climates are humid continental, characterized by cold winters with frequent days below the freezing point, and hot summers, with many days with temperatures up to 32°C.

History

Formation

Protesters of the Alsace independence movement holding a banner saying "No to merger" (Non a la fusion), 2014 in Strasbourg.

Grand Est is the result of territorial reform legislation passed in 2014 by the French Parliament to reduce the number of regions in Metropolitan France—the part of France in continental Europe—from 22 to 13.^[15] ACAL is the merger of three regions: Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine.

Opposition

The merger has been, and still is, strongly opposed by some groups in Alsace, and a large majority of Alsatians.^[16][17] The territorial reform law allows new regions to choose the seat of the regional councils, but specifically made Strasbourg the seat of the Grand Est regional council—a move to appease the region's politicians.^[18]

Demographics

The region has an official population of 5,555,186 (municipal population on 1 January 2016).^[1]

Government

Regional council

Inaugural session of the new Regional council on 4 January 2016

The current headquarters of the Alsace Regional Council, which serves as the headquarters of Grand Est's regional council

The regional council has limited administrative authority, mostly concerning the promotion of the region's economy and financing educational and cultural activities. The regional council has no legislative authority. The seat of the regional council will be Strasbourg. The regional council, elected in December 2015, is controlled by The Republicans.^[19] The elected inaugural president of the Grand Est Regional Council is Philippe Richert, who was previously the President of the Alsace Regional Council.^[19] The current president is Jean Rottner.

Transport and infrastructure

Rail transport

The region has five tram networks:

• Strasbourg tramway


• Reims tramway


• Nancy Guided Light Transit


• Mulhouse tramway


• 
  Saarbahn (Tram-train)

Airports

The region has four airports:

• EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg


• Châlons Vatry Airport


• Metz Nancy Lorraine Airport


• Strasbourg Airport

Motorways

The region has eighteen motorways:

• 
  A4 Paris to Strasbourg


• 
  A5 Paris to Langres


• 
  A26 Calais to Troyes


• 
  A30 Uckange to Longwy in N52


• 
  A31 Beaune to Luxembourg in A3 motorway (Luxembourg)
  


• 
  A33 Nancy to Phalsbourg in N4
  


• 
  A34 Reims to Sedan


• 
  A35 Strasbourg to Basel


• 
  A36 Beaune to Mulhouse


• A304 project in city of Charleville-Mézières


• A313 in city of Pont-à-Mousson


• A314 and A315 in city of Metz


• A320 in city of Forbach


• A330 in city of Nancy


• A340 Brumath to Haguenau in D1340


• A344 in city of Reims


• A351 in city of Strasbourg


• A352 Molsheim to Schirmeck in D1420

The region has twelve cities that have ring roads:

• Strasbourg


• Reims


• Metz


• Nancy


• Mulhouse


• Troyes


• Châlons-en-Champagne


• Épinal


• Colmar


• Thionville


• Longwy

Heritage

West portal of St Theobald's Church of Thann, a masterpiece of late 14th-century sculpture and architecture.

Grand Est is rich with architectural monuments from the Roman Empire to the early 21st century.

Gothic architecture is particularly conspicuous, with many famous cathedrals, basilicas and churches, such as Reims Cathedral, Strasbourg Cathedral, Metz Cathedral, Troyes Cathedral, Châlons Cathedral, Toul Cathedral, the Basilica of L'Épine, the Basilica of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port, the Basillica of Avioth [fr], the Basilica of St. Urbain in Troyes, Thann Church, Niederhaslach Church, Notre-Dame-en-Vaux, St. George's Church, Sélestat and St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Wissembourg.

See also

• Alsace


• 
  Lorraine (region)


• Alsace-Lorraine


• Champagne (historical province)


• Ardenne


• Champagne-Ardenne


• Regions of France

Notes

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Grand-Est.

• 
  Official Website (in French)
  


• Merger of the regions – France 3

Coordinates: 48°45′16″N 5°51′06″E / 48.7544°N 5.8517°E / 48.7544; 5.8517