Allier

This article is about the French department. For other uses, see Allier (disambiguation).

Allier
Alèir (Occitan)
Department
Prefecture building in Moulins
Prefecture building in Moulins
Unofficial flag
Flag
Unofficial shield
Coat of arms
Location of Allier in France
Location of Allier in France
Coordinates: 46°20′N 3°10′E / 46.333°N 3.167°E / 46.333; 3.167
CountryFrance
RegionAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes
PrefectureMoulins
SubprefecturesMontluçon
Vichy
Government
 • President of the Departmental CouncilClaude Riboulet[1] (UDI)
Area
1
 • Total
7,340 km2 (2,830 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
 • Total
334,872
 • Rank69th
 • Density46/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number03
Arrondissements3
Cantons19
Communes317
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Allier (UK: /ˈælieɪ/ AL-ee-ay,[3] US: /ælˈjeɪ, ɑːlˈjeɪ/ a(h)l-YAY,[4][5] French: [alje] ⓘ; Occitan: Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named after the river Allier, it had a population of 334,872 in 2021.[6] Moulins is the prefecture; Montluçon and Vichy are the subprefectures. Its INSEE and post code is 03.

Before 2018, the inhabitants of the department did not have a demonym. The inhabitants of the department have officially been known in French as Bourbonnais since 2018, a reference to the historic province of Bourbonnais. Until then, the unofficial term Elavérins had been used.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Allier". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Allier". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Allier". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  6. ^ Populations légales 2021: 03 Allier, INSEE (in French)
  7. ^ Cooke, Virginie (9 October 2018). "Les habitants de l'Allier vont officiellement s'appeler les Bourbonnais" (in French). France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  8. ^ Ména, Stéphanie (18 October 2018). "Les habitants de l'Allier auront officiellement un nouveau nom ce jeudi : les Bourbonnais !". La Montagne (in French). Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  9. ^ "ALLIER". habitants.fr (in French). SARL Patagos. Retrieved 28 February 2019.