Oise (/wɑːz/ wahz; French: [waz] ; Picard: Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called Oisiens (French: [wazjɛ̃]) or Isariens, after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.[3]
Oise | |
|---|---|
 Prefecture building in Beauvais | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Location of Oise in France | |
| Coordinates: 49°23′N 02°25′E / 49.383°N 2.417°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Hauts-de-France |
| Prefecture | Beauvais |
| Subprefectures | Clermont Compiègne Senlis |
| Government | |
| • President of the Departmental Council | Nadège Lefebvre[1] (LR) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5,860 km2 (2,260 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | |
| • Total | 828,838 |
| • Rank | 26th |
| • Density | 140/km2 (370/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | FR-60 |
| Department number | 60 |
| Arrondissements | 4 |
| Cantons | 21 |
| Communes | 679 |
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | |
History
Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the province of Île-de-France and Picardy.
After the coalition victory at Waterloo, the department was occupied by British troops between June 1815 and November 1818.
In March 2021, local Member of Parliament Olivier Dassault was killed in a plane crash.[4]
Geography
Oise is part of the current region of Hauts-de-France and is situated 35 km north of Paris. It is surrounded by the departments of Somme, Aisne, Seine-et-Marne, Val-d'Oise, Eure, and Seine-Maritime.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Beauvais, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 13 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The 10 most populous communes are:[3]
| Commune | Population (2019) |
|---|---|
| Beauvais | 57,071 |
| Compiègne | 40,615 |
| Creil | 36,169 |
| Nogent-sur-Oise | 20,780 |
| Crépy-en-Valois | 14,788 |
| Senlis | 14,760 |
| Méru | 14,452 |
| Montataire | 13,645 |
| Noyon | 13,190 |
| Pont-Sainte-Maxence | 12,602 |
Demographics
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| source:[5][6] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Politics
The president of the Departmental Council is Nadège Lefebvre, elected in 2017.
Presidential elections 2nd round
| Election | Winning Candidate | Party | % | 2nd Place Candidate | Party | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Marine Le Pen | RN | 52.73 | Emmanuel Macron | LREM | 47.27 | |
| 2017[7] | Emmanuel Macron | LREM | 53.28 | Marine Le Pen | FN | 46.72 | |
| 2012 | Nicolas Sarkozy | UMP | 52.66 | François Hollande | PS | 47.34 | |
| 2007 | Nicolas Sarkozy | UMP | 58.28 | Ségolène Royal | PS | 41.72 | |
| 2002[7] | Jacques Chirac | RPR | 74.93 | Jean-Marie Le Pen | FN | 25.07 | |
Current National Assembly Representatives
Tourism
The major tourist attraction of the department is the Parc Astérix, which opened in 1989. Other interesting sites are Beauvais Cathedral, the Château de Pierrefonds, restored by Viollet-le-Duc, and the art collection of the Château de Chantilly, which is one of the largest outside Paris.
Art gallery in the Château de Chantilly
Rollercoaster at the Parc Astérix
Renault FT in the Glade of the Armistice
Twinned county
Oise is twinned with Bedfordshire in England. It is also twinned with the Indonesian regency of Karanganyar and the Chinese provinces of Shandong and Zhejiang.
One of the villages along the river Oise is Auvers-sur-Oise, famous for having been visited by several impressionist artists. This is where Vincent van Gogh spent his last 70 days and is his and his brother Theo's resting place.
See also
References
External links
- (in French) Prefecture website
- (in French) Departmental Council website
- (in French) oise directory website
- (in English) Oise Tourist Board