Bourgogne-Franche-Comté is a French region that was created on
January 1, 2016 by merging the former regions of Burgundy and
Franche-Comté. The capital of the region is Dijon.
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté is the fifth largest region (excluding overseas
regions) at 47,963 square kilometers and has 2,801,695 inhabitants (as
of 2020), making it the third smallest region by population. It is
divided into the eight departments of Côte-d'Or, Doubs, Haute-Saône,
Jura, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Territoire de Belfort and Yonne. It
borders (clockwise from the north) the Grand Est region, Switzerland,
and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Centre-Val de Loire and Île-de-France
regions.
Auxerre
Beaune
Besançon
Dijon
Mâcon
Sens
Aiserey
Autun
Avallon
Chablis
Époisses
Migennes
Nans-sous-Sainte-Anne
Nevers
Paray-le-Monial
Saint-Claude
Saulieu
Semur-en-Auxois
Vannaire
Vesoul
Vézelay
The nearest airports are Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport (IATA: LYS) (south), EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (IATA: BSL, MLH, EAP) (northeast) and Geneva Airport (IATA: GVA) (south) and Paris Airport -Orly (IATA: ORY)
The composition of the region into departments is as follows.
The region is located in the northeast quarter of France. It borders the
Grand Est regions to the north, Île-de-France and Centre-Val de Loire to
the west, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to the south, and it shares a border with
Switzerland to the east.
The Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region,
which results from the merger of two local authorities (Bourgogne and
Franche-Comté) decided as part of the territorial reform of 2014, covers
47,784 km2. It is, in area, the fifth of the thirteen regions of
metropolitan France (ie 9% of metropolitan territory), and thus has a
territory of comparable size to countries such as Slovakia, Switzerland
or Estonia. It is one of the two constituent regions of the French Grand
Est with the Grand Est region.
The subsoil contains clay, sandstone, limestone (which provides, for
example, the building stones of Châtillonnais, Comblanchien and Molay),
gypsum and alluvium (sandpits of Lure) exploited in quarries and many
resources formerly exploited in mines such as precious metals, iron ore
and rock salt: in the Jura (salines of Arc-et-Senans, Salins-les-Bains
and Lons-le-Saunier) and in Haute-Saône with the saltworks of Gouhenans,
Saulnot and Mélecey.
The main resource of the subsoil is coal,
the extraction of which has been abandoned since the second half of the
20th century, mainly located in the south of Burgundy with the coal
mines of Blanzy made up of three deposits: Blanzy, Épinac and Decize
surrounded by small sites that have remained independent: La
Chapelle-sous-Dun and Aubigny-la-Ronce. The important deposit of the Sud
Nivernais discovered quite recently (its existence was made public in
1986) is not exploited so as not to harm the environment. To the east,
the coal basins of the Vosges and the Jura have three deposits on
Comtois territory: the sub-Vosges and the Keupérien basin have been
exploited to a lesser extent than Blanzy, only the Ronchamp coal mines,
closed in 1958, having been industrialized; the Jura Stephanian basin is
only prospected and only small quantities of gas were extracted there
until 1964. Anthracite is extracted in Sincey-lès-Rouvray until 1908 and
lignite formerly exploited in Côte-d'Or , in the Yonne and in the Doubs.
The subsoil also contains oil shale, mined industrially until 1957 in
the Telots mine in the Autun oil shale deposit and more briefly, in the
interwar period, in that of Creveney, not far from Vesoul.
Three main mountain ranges mark the landscape. The Vosges massif is
located to the northeast, the highest point in the region is the Ballon
d'Alsace (1,247 meters). The Jura extends over the entire eastern limit
and culminates in the homonymous department at the Pela crest (1,495
meters), the latter is also the highest peak in the region. The Vosges
and the Jura meet in the Gap of Belfort. The Morvan occupies a central
place in the western part, its highest point is the Haut-Folin (901
meters).
Other more modest massifs exist. North-east of the
Morvan is the Côte d'Or, an escarpment created by the formation of a
rift, which rises to 641 meters above sea level. The Massif Central
reaches the southern part of the region through the Mâconnais which is
dominated by Mont Saint-Cyr (771 metres).
The main navigable rivers are the Saône and the Doubs. The Loire
crosses the south-west of the region at the level of Nevers but it is
not practicable because of the sandbanks. The Seine also has its source
in Côte-d'Or.
Part of the regional hydrographic network has its
source in neighboring Switzerland (notably the Allan watershed).
The region has dozens of lakes, such as Lac des Rousses, Lac de Chalain,
Lac du Vernois, Lac de Lamoura, Lac de Vesoul-Vaivre, Lac de Saint-Point
(3rd largest natural lake in France), Lac de Remoray , Lac de Bonlieu,
Lac de Narlay, Lac des Settons, Lac de Pannecière and the famous Lac de
Vouglans which is the third largest artificial reservoir in France with
605 million cubic meters. In the Saônoises Vosges is the Mille Etangs
plateau.
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté is a crossroads between Germany, Switzerland, Italy to the east and Île-de-France, the French Atlantic coast to the west, but also between Benelux to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south.
The region is made up of a network of 868 km of motorways: the main
motorway axis is the A6, known as the Autoroute du Soleil, which
connects Paris and Lyon by crossing the region from north-west to south
over nearly 300 km and serves the towns of Auxerre, Beaune,
Chalon-sur-Saône and Mâcon. The second major motorway is the A36,
nicknamed La Comtoise, which leaves from Beaune, in the center of the
region, and heads east to reach Alsace and the German border at
Mulhouse. Covering approximately 200 km within Burgundy-Franche-Comté,
it serves the towns of Dole, Besançon, Montbéliard and Belfort. Covering
120 km on the regional territory, the A39 connects Dijon to the south of
the region along a north-south axis which makes it possible to relieve
the A6 by passing near Dole and Lons-le-Saunier. Starting from Beaune to
the north, the A31 (80 km in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) allows you to
reach Lorraine and Luxembourg via Dijon. The A77 motorway exclusively
serves the department of Nièvre over 80 km, along a north-south axis
along the western limit of the region: it connects Nevers to
Île-de-France. A few minor motorway bars complete the network, the A5
(40 km), the A19 (30 km), the A38 (40 km), the A40 (3 km), the A406 (2
km), the A391 (4 km), the A311 (5 km).
The main road network is
supplemented by 768 km of national roads. Linking Nancy to the
Franco-Swiss border along a north-south route, national road 57 runs 180
km through the departments of Haute-Saône and Doubs, passing through
Luxeuil-les-Bains, Vesoul, Besançon and Pontarlier. The N151 connects
Auxerre to La Charité-sur-Loire (100 km) via Clamecy. The N19
Langres-Belfort which has a hundred kilometers from east to west through
the Haute-Saône serves Vesoul and Lure. In Saône-et-Loire, the N79 which
crosses the department from east to west over 80 km, from Mâcon to
Digoin via Paray-le-Monial, the N70 which connects the latter to
Montchanin over 40 km and the N80 from Montchanin in Chalon-sur-Saône
(30 km), constitute the Burgundian portion of the Center-Europe Atlantic
road (RCEA). Known for its high accident rate, it is gradually being
transformed into a 2x2 lane expressway. The N5 crosses the Jura
department for 70 km from Poligny to Champagnole and as far as Les
Rousses, on the border between France and Switzerland. From Besançon to
Poligny, the N83 stretches over sixty kilometres.
The rail network in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté is organized around the
main cities: Besançon and Dijon. The main line is the Paris-Belfort line
via Dijon and Besançon. This line is LGV from Paris to Montbard (LGV
Sud-Est) and from Dijon to Belfort (LGV Rhin-Rhône). The territory is
also crisscrossed by secondary roads, where mainly TER
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté circulate, on a network of 1,951 km.
The
largest station in the region is Dijon-Ville, which in 2019 welcomes 5.8
million passengers; Next come the stations of Besançon-Viotte (2.2
million passengers in 2019) and Belfort-Ville (1.1 million passengers in
2019). All the other stations served less than one million passengers in
2019. Note that the cities of Besançon, Belfort and Montbéliard have a
second station on the LGV Rhin-Rhône: Besançon Franche-Comté TGV and
Belfort - Montbéliard TGV .
The commissioning of the first phase
of the eastern branch of the LGV Rhin-Rhône in 2011 made it possible to
significantly shorten journey times. The journey time between Belfort
and Paris (gare de Lyon) has thus been reduced from 3 h to 2 h 30 min,
between Besançon and Paris from 2 h 30 min to 2 h, between Besançon and
Lyon from 2 h 20 min to 1 h 55 min10 and between Besançon and
Strasbourg, from 2 h 30 min to 1 h 40 min. At the same time, connections
between several cities in the region have also been shortened, going
from a journey of 1h to 0h30min between Dijon and Besançon and from
1h15min to 0h25min between Besançon and Belfort . In all, 14 stations
are served by the TGV in the region.
Several extensions of the
LGV Rhin-Rhône are planned: the second phase of the East branch, which
will constitute 50 km of new line, including 35 km to the east and 15 km
to the west, could be financed by 2027 or 2038 ; the West branch, in
project, intended to connect the East branch to the LGV Sud-Est, and
thus to the Paris region, crossing the Dijon conurbation by its eastern
edge; finally, the southern branch, also at the project stage, which
would represent approximately 150 km of new line to connect the eastern
branch to Lyon and the LGV Méditerranée, ensuring a connection of the
population basins of the cities of eastern France, from Benelux, Germany
and northern Switzerland to the Lyon metropolitan area and the
Mediterranean arc.
The region is served by the only Dole-Jura airport, owned by the Jura
departmental council. Located between Besançon and Dijon, it welcomed
more than 100,000 passengers in 2018 and offers several regular lines in
France or abroad.
The airports of Besançon - La Vèze and
Dijon-Bourgogne are only geared towards business flights in the absence
of regular commercial lines.
The absence of major airport
structures is explained by the proximity of international airports in
Paris, Basel, Geneva and Lyon, easily accessible from the region.
The region is served by many canals (Canal du Rhône au Rhin, Canal de Bourgogne, Canal du Centre, Canal du Nivernais, Canal lateral de Roanne à Digoin).
The territory of present-day Burgundy and Franche-Comté was included in the 5th century in the kingdom of Burgundians, which was extended by the Merovingian kingdom of Burgundy. Under the Carolingians, the Treaty of Verdun in 843 led to a distinction between a "Frankish Burgundy", at the origin of the Duchy of Burgundy (current Burgundy), and an "Imperial Burgundy", or "Haute Bourgogne", where the county was of Burgundy (Franche-Comté). The two provinces pass under common vassalage (but remain under different sovereignties) from 1330 to 1361, by the first house of Burgundy, then by the dukes-counts Valois (1384-1477/1493) within the Burgundian States. They were separated at the end of the 15th century, the duchy being incorporated into the French royal domain while the county remained subject to the Countess Marie de Bourgogne and her descendants, the Habsburg-Burgundy.
The County was only integrated into the kingdom of France after its
conquest in 1678 by the troops of Louis XIV and the surrender of Dole,
the former capital of Franche-Comté, while Besançon inherited the status
of capital. The Duchy of Burgundy and Franche-Comté then formed two
distinct provinces and generalities, with their own capital of
government (respectively Dijon and Besançon).
Although most of
its territory is attached to these two former provinces, the region also
includes most of Nivernais (corresponding roughly to the department of
Nièvre), part of Champagne (the northern part of the department of Yonne
with Sens and Tonnerre in particular), part of Orléanais (the
south-western part of Yonne with Toucy), the part of Alsace which
remained French after 1871 (the current Territoire de Belfort), as well
as a tiny part of Île-de-France (the northwestern part of Yonne).
The old provinces of France are suppressed during the Revolution.
From 1941 to 1944, a regional prefecture of the Vichy regime brought
together Burgundy and Franche-Comté, just like the igamy of Dijon from
1948 to 1964. However, when the regions were created as public
establishments in 1972 and then as local authorities in 1982 , Burgundy
and Franche-Comté form two separate regions.
In 2009, the
Balladur committee proposed for the first time to merge Burgundy and
Franche-Comté.
On April 14, 2014, the presidents of the Bourgogne
and Franche-Comté regions, respectively François Patriat and Marie-Guite
Dufay, announced during a press conference that they wanted to bring
their two regions closer together following statements by Prime Minister
Manuel Valls which wishes to simplify the French administrative
division.
The following June 2, the two regions find themselves
associated, unsurprisingly, on the map presented by the President of the
Republic, François Hollande. These two regions are the only ones to have
come together politically for a merger and, unlike other merger
projects, the alliance between Burgundy and Franche-Comté is not
reviewed by the National Assembly or by the Senate. Indeed, the two
regions are partly historically and economically linked.
However,
in 2015, the will to merge the two regions seems mainly to come from a
few elected officials, even from the Burgundians. According to a BVA
opinion poll for the regional press, the people of Burgundy and
Francs-Comtois are 49% satisfied (against 41% dissatisfied) with their
new region. The divide is much more pronounced between Burgundians and
Francs-Comtois: they are respectively 57% and 37% satisfied with this
division. The differences are even stronger on the question of the
regional capital in Dijon: 79% of Burgundians consider that it is rather
a good thing, against 29% of Francs-Comtois.
The year 2015 is a period of transition and rapprochement for the two
regions. Three political bodies are in place:
the conference of
regional presidents and their direct entourage who meet every month;
the Burgundy-Franche-Comté mixed commission (which brings together the
different political tendencies) studies the files selected by the
conference of presidents;
the conference of territories is
responsible for making the link with the other communities (departments
and municipalities in particular).
As part of Act III of
decentralization, the merger of the two regions was adopted on December
17, 2014. It came into force on January 1, 2016.
The introduction
of a right of option in the law relating to the delimitation of regions,
however, allows the Territoire de Belfort to decide, after 1 January
2016, for integration into the new Grand Est region
(Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne -Lorraine), mentioned by some elected
officials.