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Hydrography

The town is traversed by the Canal de Garonne, the Canal du Midi and the rivers Garonne, Touch.

Government and politics

Community of the Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse

The Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse (''Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Toulouse'') was created in 2001 to better coordinate transport, infrastructure and economic policies between the city of Toulouse and its immediate independent suburbs. It succeeds a previous district which had been created in 1992 with less powers than the current council. It combines the city of Toulouse and 24 independent ''communes'', covering an area of 380 km² (147 sq. miles), totaling a population of 583,229 inhabitants (as of 1999 census), 67% of whom live in the city of Toulouse proper. As of February 2004 estimate, the total population of the Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse was 651,209 inhabitants, 65.5% of whom live in the city of Toulouse. Due to local political feuds, the Community of Agglomeration only hosts 61% of the population of the metropolitan area, the other independent suburbs having refused to join in.

Local politics

One of the major political figures in Toulouse was Dominique Baudis, the mayor of Toulouse between 1983 and 2001, member of center-right UDF. First known as a journalist famous for his coverage of the war in Lebanon, 36 year-old Dominique Baudis succeeded his father Pierre Baudis in 1983 as mayor of Toulouse. (Pierre Baudis was mayor from 1971 to 1983.) The Baudis dynasty succeeded in turning Toulouse into a center-right stronghold, whereas historically the city had been left-leaning since the 19th century. Dominique Baudis is also known as a writer who wrote historical novels about the ancient counts of Toulouse, their crusade in the Middle East, and the Albigensian Crusade.

During his time as mayor, Toulouse's economy and population boomed. He tried to strengthen the international role of Toulouse (such as its Airbus operations), as well as revive the cultural heritage of the city. The Occitan cross, flag of Languedoc and symbol of the counts of Toulouse, was chosen as the new flag of the city, instead of the traditional coat of arms of Toulouse (which included the fleur de lis of the French monarchy). Many cultural institutions were created, in order to attract foreign expatriates and emphasise the city's past. For example, monuments dating from the time of the counts of Toulouse were restored, the city's symphonic concert hall (''Halle aux Grains'') was refurbished, a city theater was built, a Museum of Modern Art was founded, the Bemberg Foundation (European paintings and bronzes from the Renaissance to the 20th century) was established, a huge pop music concert venue (''Zénith'', the largest in France outside Paris) was built, the space museum and educational park ''Cité de l'Espace'' was founded, etc.

To deal with growth, major housing and transportation projects were launched. Perhaps the one for which Baudis date=March 2009 is most famous is the Toulouse Metro: line A of the underground was opened in 1993, and Baudis succeeded in having work started on line B (which opened in 2007), despite strong local opposition to the anticipated costs. The creation of a system of underground car parking structures in Toulouse city centre was sharply criticised by the Green Party.

Despite all these massive undertakings, the city's economy proved so strong that Dominique Baudis was able to announce, in 1999, that the city had finished repaying its debt, making it the only large city in France ever to achieve solvency. In Europe, typical per capita city debt for a city the size of Toulouse is around 1,200 euros. Achieving solvency was a long-standing goal for Baudis, who had said that he would extinguish city debt before leaving office. Local opposition, however, has criticised this achievement, saying that the task of governments is not to run zero-deficit, but to ensure the well-being of citizens, through social benefits, housing programs for poor people, etc.

In 2000, Dominique Baudis was at the zenith of his popularity, with approval rates of 85%. date=February 2008 He announced that he would not run for a fourth (6-year) term in 2001. He explained that with 3 terms he was already the longest-serving mayor of Toulouse since the French Revolution; he felt that change would be good for the city, and that the number of terms should be limited. He endorsed Philippe Douste-Blazy, then UDF mayor of Lourdes as his successor. Baudis has since been appointed president of the CSA (''Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel'') in Paris, the French equivalent of the American FCC.

Philippe Douste-Blazy narrowly won in the 2001 elections, which saw the left making its best showing in decades. Douste-Blazy had to deal with a reinvigorated political opposition, as well as with the dramatic explosion of the AZF plant in late 2001.

In March 2004 he entered the national government, and left Toulouse in the hands of his second-in-command Jean-Luc Moudenc, elected mayor by the municipal council. In March 2008, Moudenc was defeated by the Socialist Party's candidate Pierre Cohen.

Sights

Religious buildings

Economy

The main industries are aeronautics, space, electronics, information technology and biotechnology. Toulouse hosts the Airbus headquarters and assembly-lines of Airbus A320, A330, A340, and A380. The others (A318, A319, A321 and A380 interior furnishing) being in Hamburg, Germany. Airbus intends to relocate Toulouse A320 final assembly activity to Hamburg, with A350 and A380 production going in the opposite direction as part of its Power8 organization plan begun under ex-CEO Christian Streiff.

According to Newsweek Toulouse ranked as the fifth most dynamic city in the world in 2006.

Colleges and universities

Toulouse has the second-largest student population in France after Paris (120,000 students).

The University of Toulouse (''Université de Toulouse''), established in 1229, is located here (now split into three separate universities). Like the universities in Oxford and Paris, the University of Toulouse was established at a time when Europeans were starting to translate the writings of Greek philosophers. These writings challenged European ideology - inspiring scientific discoveries and advances in the arts - as society began seeing itself in a new way. These colleges were supported by the Church in hopes to reconcile Greek Philosophy and Christian Theology. Today, Toulouse is the second largest university campus of France after Paris, with more than 120,000 students attending its three universities :

and its engineering schools :

Toulouse also hosts the Industrial Economics Institute (Institut D'Economie Industrielle, IDEI) that is become one of the best European research centres in economics as well as its associated graduate school (TSE - Toulouse School of Economics) that recruits the ablest students from all countries in the European Union and further afield, as well as the Toulouse Business School (ESCT), one of France's leading business and management schools.

The most well known high schools in Toulouse are Lycée Pierre de Fermat and Lycée Saint-Sernin.

Transport

In addition to an extensive bus system, the Toulouse Metro system is a VAL (Véhicule Automatique Léger) metro system made up of driverless (automatic) rubber-tired trains. Line A runs for 12.5 km from Balma-Gramont to Basso Cambo. Line B, which opened in June 2007, adds 20 stations and intersects line A at Jean Jaurès. Line E (tramway) is going to be finished in 2009, and will roll from Beauzelle to Toulouse passing through Blagnac. Line C has existed since line A was completed. It is not VAL but a classical railway line with SNCF trains; it connects to line A at Arènes. Another oft-used commuter train line (D) runs to the city of Muret.

Airports include:

Railway stations include:

Communications

Toulouse is home to Bonhoure Radio Tower, a 61-metre high lattice tower used for FM and TV transmission.

Culture

Toulouse, known as the ''Ville Rose'' (''Pink City'') for its distinctive brick architecture date=March 2008, is host to a rich and diverse culture. It has a thriving scene of unusually beautiful graffiti, with the painter Miss Van at its forefront.

Toulouse was the home of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944), most famous for his book ''Le Petit Prince'' (The Little Prince). There is a permanent gallery with numerous photos, and some of his works, located in the - just off the ''Place du Capitole'' - where he stayed. (The Bohemian painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec lived in Paris and was born in nearby Albi).

It is the seat of the Académie des Jeux Floraux, the equivalent of the French Academy for the Occitan-speaking regions of southern France, making Toulouse the unofficial capital of Occitan culture. The traditional Occitan cross was adopted as the symbol of both the City of Toulouse and the newly-founded Midi-Pyrénées ''région''.

The city's gastronomic specialties include ''Saucisses de Toulouse'', a type of herb sausage, ''cassoulet'' Toulousain, a bean and pork stew, and ''garbure'', a cabbage soup with poultry. Also, foie gras, the liver of an overfed duck or goose, is a delicacy mainly made in the Midi-Pyrénées.

Sport

In sports, it boasts a highly respected rugby union team, Stade Toulousain, which has been a five-time finalist, three-time winner in Europe's top club competition in the sport, the Heineken Cup and 17 times French champions. Toulouse is considered a centre for rugby union,date=July 2008 and the city hosted games at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The city also has a professional football team Toulouse FC who play in ligue 1, the top level of football in France. Toulouse Olympique represents the city in rugby league's Co-operative Championship.

The city also hosted games during the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the EuroBasket 1999.

Notable births and deaths in Toulouse

Twin towns

Toulouse also has accords of cooperation with the following towns:

In addition, Toulouse has an adoption city: