Editing Somme (department)

{{Short description|Department of France}}
{{Expand French|Somme (département)}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->| name               = Somme
| native_name        = {{native name|pcd|Sonme}}
| native_name_lang   = fr<!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| type               = [[Departments of France|Department of France]]
| image_skyline      = Amiens, hôtel de préfecture (7).JPG
| image_alt          = 
| image_caption      = [[Prefectures in France|Prefecture]] building of the Somme department, in [[Amiens]]
| image_flag         = Drapeau fr département Somme.svg
| flag_alt           = 
| image_shield       = Blason département fr Somme.svg
| shield_alt         = 
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| image_map          = Somme-Position.svg
| map_alt            = 
| map_caption        = Location of Somme in France
| pushpin_map        = 
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_map_alt    = 
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| coordinates        = {{Coord|49|53|N|02|25|E|region:FR-80_type:adm2nd|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint      = 
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = [[France]]
| subdivision_type1  = [[Regions of France|Region]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Hauts-de-France]]
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = 
| founder            = 
| seat_type          = [[Prefectures in France|Prefecture]]
| seat               = [[Amiens]]
| parts_type         = [[Subprefectures in France|Subprefectures]]
| parts_style        = para
| p1                 = [[Abbeville]]<br>[[Montdidier, Somme|Montdidier]]<br>[[Péronne, Somme|Péronne]]
| government_footnotes = 
| leader_party       = 
| leader_title       = [[President of the Departmental Council]]
| leader_name        = Stéphane Haussoulier<ref>{{cite web |title=Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux |url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/601ef073-d986-4582-8e1a-ed14dc857fba |website=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=4 May 2022|language=fr}}</ref>
| unit_pref          = Metric<!-- or US or UK -->
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_footnotes     = {{ref|area|1}}
| area_total_km2     = 6170
| area_note          = 
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_min_m    = 
| elevation_max_m    = 
| population_total   = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
| population_as_of   = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
| population_footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes2}}
| population_rank    = [[List of French departments by population|44th]]
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym = 
| population_note    = 
| blank_name_sec1    = [[Departments of France|Department number]]
| blank_info_sec1    = 80
| blank_name_sec2    = [[Arrondissements of France|Arrondissements]]
| blank_info_sec2    = [[arrondissements of the Somme department|4]]
| blank1_name_sec2   = [[Cantons in France|Cantons]]
| blank1_info_sec2   = [[cantons of the Somme department|23]]
| blank2_name_sec2   = [[Communes in France|Communes]]
| blank2_info_sec2   = [[communes of the Somme department|772]]
| timezone1          = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset1        = +1
| timezone1_DST      = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST    = +2
| postal_code_type   = 
| postal_code        = 
| area_code_type     = 
| area_code          = 
| iso_code           = FR-80
| website            = 
| footnotes          = {{note|area|1}} French Land Register data, which exclude [[estuary|estuaries]], and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km<sup>2</sup>
}}

The '''Somme''' ({{IPA|fr|sɔm|-|LL-Q150 (fra)-GrandCelinien-Somme.wav}}; {{langx|pcd|Sonme}}) is a [[departments of France|department]] of [[France]], located in the north of the country and named after the [[Somme (river)|Somme river]]. It is part of the [[Hauts-de-France]] [[regions of France|region]]. It is bordered by [[Pas-de-Calais]] and [[Nord (French department)|Nord]] to the north, [[Aisne]] to the east, [[Oise]] to the south and [[Seine-Maritime]] to the southwest. To the northwest, its coastline faces the [[English Channel]] and it shares maritime borders with [[Kent]] and [[East Sussex]] in the [[United Kingdom]]. It had a population of 570,559 in 2019.<ref name=pop2019>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/fichier/6011060/dep80.pdf Populations légales 2019: 80 Somme], INSEE</ref>

The north central area of the Somme was the site of a series of battles during [[World War I]], including the particularly significant [[Battle of the Somme]] in 1916. As a result of this and other battles fought in the area, the department is home to many military [[cemetery|cemeteries]] and several major monuments commemorating the many soldiers from various countries who died on its [[battle]]fields.  The 1346 [[Battle of Crécy]], a major English victory early in the [[Hundred Years' War]], also took place in this department.

==History==
The [[toponymy]] of Somme is speculated to come from a [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]] term, ''Sumena''.

==Geography==
The Somme department is in the current [[Regions of France|region]] of [[Hauts-de-France]] and is surrounded by the departments of [[Pas-de-Calais]], [[Nord (French department)|Nord]], [[Aisne]], [[Oise]] and [[Seine-Maritime]]. In the northwest, it has a coast on the [[English Channel]]. The main rivers are the [[Somme (river)|Somme]] and its tributaries ([[Avre (Somme)|Avre]], [[Ancre]] and [[Noye]], the [[Authie (river)|Authie]]) as well as the [[Bresle (river)|Bresle]].

===Principal towns===

The most populous commune is [[Amiens]], the prefecture. {{As of|2019|}}, there are 9 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:<ref name=pop2019/>

{| class=wikitable
! Commune
! Population (2019)
|-
| [[Amiens]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 134,706
|-
| [[Abbeville]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 22,980
|-
| [[Albert, Somme|Albert]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 9,779
|-
| [[Péronne, Somme|Péronne]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 7,577
|-
| [[Corbie]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 6,292
|-
| [[Montdidier, Somme|Montdidier]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 6,113
|-
| [[Doullens]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 5,890
|-
| [[Longueau]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 5,765
|-
| [[Roye, Somme|Roye]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 5,693
|}

==Battles of the Somme==
{{Main article|Battle of the Somme}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2014}}

At the beginning of the [[First World War]], during the [[Race to the Sea]] of September and November 1914, the Somme became the site of the [[Battle of Albert (1914)|Battle of Albert]]. The battle was a five-day engagement between 25 and 29 September, with the [[Tenth Army (France)|French Tenth Army]] attacking at Albert and pushing toward [[Bapaume]], and the [[6th Army (German Empire)|German Sixth Army]] counter-attacking back towards Albert. The line settled around the town of [[Thiepval]] and remained there until July 1916, when the Battle of the Somme was fought on and around the same ground.

The Battle of the Somme was one of the most [[List of battles by death toll|costly]] battles of World War I, by the number of troop casualties, as [[Allies (World War I)|Allied]] forces attempted to break through the [[German Empire|German]] lines along a {{convert|40|km}} front north and south of the [[River Somme]]. The Allies had originally intended the Somme to be the site of one of several simultaneous major offensives by Allied powers against the [[Central Powers]] in 1916. However, before these offensives could begin, the Germans attacked first, engaging the Allies at the [[Battle of Verdun]]. As this battle dragged on, the purpose of the Somme campaign (which was still in the planning stage) shifted from striking a decisive blow against Germany to drawing German forces away from Verdun and relieving the Allied forces there. By its end, the losses on the Somme had exceeded those at Verdun.

While Verdun would bite deep in the national consciousness of France for generations, the Somme would have the same effect on generations of Britons. The battle is best remembered for its first day, 1 July 1916, on which the British suffered 57,420 casualties, including 19,240 dead—the bloodiest day in the history of the [[British Army]] to this day. As terrible as the battle was for the British Empire troops who suffered there, it naturally affected the other nationalities as well. By the end of the battle, the British had learned many lessons in modern warfare, while the Germans had suffered irreplaceable losses. British historian Sir [[James Edward Edmonds|James Edmonds]] stated, "It is not too much to claim that the foundations of the final victory on the Western Front were laid by the Somme offensive of 1916".

For the first time, the home front in Britain was exposed to the horrors of modern war with the release of the [[propaganda film]] ''[[The Battle of the Somme (film)|The Battle of the Somme]]'', which used actual footage from the first days of the battle.

The Somme experienced war twice more in the [[First Battle of the Somme (1918)|First]] and [[Second Battle of the Somme (1918)|Second Battles of the Somme]] of 1918.

== Demographics ==
Population development since 1801:{{historical populations|cols=2|align=none|percentages=pagr|footnote=Sources:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://splaf.free.fr/80his.html|title=Historique de la Somme|website=Le SPLAF}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4176909?geo=DEP-80|title=Évolution et structure de la population en 2016|publisher=INSEE}}</ref>|graph-pos=bottom
|13=1801|14=459,453|15=1806|16=494,642|17=1821|18=508,710|19=1831|20=543,924|21=1841|22=559,680|23=1851|24=570,641|25=1861|26=572,646|27=1872|28=557,015|29=1881|30=550,837|31=1891|32=546,495|33=1901|34=537,848|35=1911|36=520,161|37=1921|38=452,624|39=1931|40=466,626|41=1936|42=467,479|43=1946|44=441,368|45=1954|46=464,153|47=1962|48=488,225|49=1968|50=512,113|51=1975|52=538,462|53=1982|54=544,570|55=1990|56=547,825|57=1999|58=555,551|59=2006|60=564,319|61=2011|62=571,211|63=2016|64=572,744}}

== Politics ==

The president of the [[Departmental council (France)|departmental council]] is Stéphane Haussoulier, elected in July 2021.

=== Presidential elections 2nd round ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Winning Candidate!!Party!!%!!2nd Place Candidate!!Party!!%
|-
|
|[[2022 French presidential election|2022]]
|[[Emmanuel Macron]]
|[[La République En Marche!|LREM]]
|45.37
|[[Marine Le Pen]]
|[[National Rally|RN]]
|54.63
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|En Marche!}}" |
| [[2017 French presidential election|2017]]<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=http://www.interieur.gouv.fr/Elections/Les-resultats/Presidentielles|title=Présidentielles|first=Ministère de|last=l'Intérieur|website=interieur.gouv.fr}}</ref>
| [[Emmanuel Macron]]
| [[La République En Marche!|LREM]]
| 54.22
| [[Marine Le Pen]]
| [[National Front (France)|FN]]
| 45.78
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|Socialist Party (France)|PS}}" |
| [[2012 French presidential election|2012]]
| [[François Hollande]]
| [[Socialist Party (France)|PS]]
| 54.41
| [[Nicolas Sarkozy]]
| [[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]]
| 45.59
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|Union for a Popular Movement}}" |
| [[2007 French presidential election|2007]]
| [[Nicolas Sarkozy]]
| [[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]]
| 50.46
| [[Ségolène Royal]]
| [[Socialist Party (France)|PS]]
| 49.54
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|Rally for the Republic}}" |
| [[2002 French presidential election|2002]]<ref name="auto"/>
| [[Jacques Chirac]]
| [[Rally for the Republic|RPR]]
| 78.26
| [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]]
| [[National Rally|FN]]
| 21.74
|}

===Current National Assembly representatives===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Constituency!!Member<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/|title=Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français|first=Assemblée|last=Nationale|website=Assemblée nationale}}</ref>!!Party
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|La France Insoumise}}" |
| [[Somme's 1st constituency]]
| [[François Ruffin]]
| {{Lang|fr|[[La France Insoumise]]|italic=no}}
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|La République En Marche!}}" |
| [[Somme's 2nd constituency]]
| [[Barbara Pompili]]
| {{Lang|fr|[[La République En Marche!]]|italic=no}}
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|The Republicans (France)}}" |
| [[Somme's 3rd constituency]]
| [[Emmanuel Maquet]]
| [[The Republicans (France)|The Republicans]]
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|La République En Marche!}}" |
| [[Somme's 4th constituency]]
| [[Jean-Claude Leclabart]]
| {{Lang|fr|[[La République En Marche!]]|italic=no}}
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|Union of Democrats and Independents}}" |
| [[Somme's 5th constituency]]
| [[Stéphane Demilly]]
| [[Union of Democrats and Independents]]
|}

== Tourism ==

===Image gallery===
<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px">
File:Phoque Le Hourdel01.jpg|Seal in the bay of [[River Somme|Somme]]
File:MERSGLOBAL.jpg|View of [[Mers-les-Bains]] 
File:0 Amiens - Place du Don - Cathédrale (1).JPG|[[Amiens]]
File:Château de Rambures - vue de devant.jpg|[[Château de Rambures]]
File:Saint-Valery-sur-Somme chapelle 4a.jpg|Chapel in [[Saint-Valery-sur-Somme]]
</gallery>

== See also ==

* [[Cantons of the Somme department]] 
* [[Communes of the Somme department]] 
* [[Arrondissements of the Somme department]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://www.somme.gouv.fr/ Prefecture of Somme website]
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://www.somme.fr/ Departmental council's website]
* {{in lang|en}} [http://www.en.images-en-somme.fr/ Photos from Somme]
* [http://www.verdun-somme-1916.de/ GPS-Teamproject "Verdun - Somme - 1916"]

{{Somme communes}}
{{Departments of France}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Somme (department)| ]]
[[Category:Departments of Hauts-de-France]]