Toulouse

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Administrative centre of Haute-Garonne département and of the Midi-Pyrénées region in southwest France, 200 km/125 mi southeast of Bordeaux on the River Garonne; population (1999 est) 389,700, conurbation (2002 est) 975,000. It is the fourth city of France, a centre of communications, and the seat of an archbishopric and a university, founded in 1229. The town is a marketing, publishing, and banking centre, and its chief industries are textiles, chemicals, and metallurgy. It is also the hub of France's aircraft and aerospace industry; Concorde was built here. It has also become a major European centre of scientific research, especially in aerospace, electronics, data processing, and agriculture.

History
Originally a Celto-Ligurian settlement, it was founded by the Romans in 106 BC as Tolosa. It was the capital of the Visigoths (see Goth) 419–507, and later of the former provinces of Aquitaine (781–843) and Languedoc. It became the cultural centre of medieval France in the 12th–13th centuries. In 1218 the Count of Toulouse was accused of complicity in the murder of a papal legate, and the town was captured by the elder Simon de Montfort in the pope's crusade against the Albigenses. De Montfort was then killed here later the same year whilst besieging the town for a second time. The last action of the Peninsular War was fought here in 1814 when the Duke of Wellington repulsed the French marshal Soult.

Yellow stands for mineral wealth. Green represents the country's vegetation and natural resources. Red recalls the blood spilt during the liberation struggle. Effective date: 18 April 1980. >>