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Languedoc Roussillon

 Languedoc - Roussillon-A few facts

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Languedoc Roussillon has 2 million of inhabitants and we can say this is scarcely populated. About 700,000 live in the capitals of the different departments. A very great population concentration is also to find along the sea coast. The department Herault alone has 794,000 citizens. The pastoral Lozère, the most northern part from Languedoc has only 2 inhabitants per square kilometer, is the thinnest populated of the area. Since the religion wars there is also a division of Catholics and a few areas dominated by Protestants. And to conclude let’s not forget the few hundred thousand of Muslims living now in the two parts.

Ferias, corridas, troubadour-festivals and the traditional “sardane farandole” testify of a living folklore. In Roussilllon it is the Catalan tradition that is respected. The most important proof of the renewed conscience of the identity of Languedoc Roussillon since the seventies is that the Catalan and Occitan inscription along the road are more and more visible. Plans for the extension of the military compound on the Causse du Larzac, begin of the seventies, led to violent protests where the battle cry “Occitania” was often heard. In 1981, the government accepted the protests.

The vineyards occupy half a million hectares . For a long time, wine was a monoculture in the Languedoc. So if there was something happening like epidemics or, other wine sicknesses, it led to heavy poverty. Lately, the presence of big industries in cities like Nimes and Montpellier, made the region less vulnerable. The port of Sete is after Marseille the most important of the Mediterranean.

 The traditional kitchen is influences by the Provence and Catalunya. Bread drenched in olive oil and smeared out with brandade or tapenade (olive mash) is served everywhere as standard table decoration. The Mediterranean spices also play an important role with the Languedoc dishes>. Next to thyme, rosemary and garlic other spices already used by the crusaders like saffron, cinnamon, and ginger. The Languedocien likes meals with a good body and refined fish diners like they serve on the seaside.