MIDI-PYRNES

rgion, southwestern France, encompassing the dpartements of Lot, Aveyron, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Gers, Hautes-Pyrnes, Haute-Garonne, and Arige. The capital is Toulouse. The region has an area of 17,509 square miles (45,349 square km) and is bounded by the dpartements of Pyrnes-Atlantiques and Landes to the west, Lot-et-Garonne and Dordogne to the northwest, Corrze and Cantal to the north, and Lozre, Gard, Hrault, Aude, and Pyrnes-Orientales to the east. Spain lies to the south. The Pyrenees rise in the south and cover much of Hautes-Pyrnes, Haute-Garonne, and Arige. An oceanic climate prevails. The region is sparsely populated. The population declined by more than 31 percent between 1851 and 1946, in consonance with the experience of most of rural France outside the Paris region, and has subsequently increased at a rate well below the national average. Repatriated migrs from northern Africa have accounted for much of the post-World War II increase. The population remains predominantly rural outside the urban areas of Toulouse, Tarbes, Albi, Castres, and Montauban. Repatriates from Morocco and Tunisia have helped to expand the cultivation of wheat in the Aquitaine basin. Viticulture is largely limited to Condom and Eauze in Gers, Gaillac in Tarn, and Fronton in Haute-Garonne. Animal husbandry and forestry predominate in the Pyrenees. The region's industries are underdeveloped. Electrometallurgy is concentrated in the valleys of the Pyrenees. Hydroelectric power is generated from the Neste and Arige rivers in the Pyrenees and from the Truyre River and Lake Pareloup in the Massif Central. Pop. (1992 est.) 2,461,000.