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Picardy

Picardy
Picardie
Region of France
Flag of Picardy
Flag
Picardie in France.svg
Country  France
Prefecture Amiens
Departments
Government
 • President Claude Gewerc (PS)
Area
 • Total 19,399 km2 (7,490 sq mi)
Population (2007-01-01)
 • Total 1,890,000
 • Density 97/km2 (250/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Picards
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code FR-S
GDP (2012) Ranked 14th
Total €49.7 billion (US$64 bn)
Per capita €27,611 (US$35,556)
NUTS Region FR2
Website cr-picardie.fr

Picardy (/ˈpɪkədɪ/; French: Picardie, French pronunciation: ​[pi.kaʁ.di]) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is now part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France.

The historical province of Picardy stretched from north of Noyon to Calais, via the whole of the Somme department and the north of the Aisne department. The province of Artois (Arras area) separated Picardy from French Flanders.

From the 5th century the area was part of the Frankish Empire, and in the feudal period it encompassed the six countships of Boulogne, Montreuil, Ponthieu, Amiénois, Vermandois, and Laonnois. According to the 843 Treaty of Verdun the region became part of West Francia, the later Kingdom of France.

The name "Picardy" (which may have referred to a Frankish tribe of picards or pike-bearers) was not used until the 12th or 13th century. During this time, the name applied to all lands where the Picard language was spoken, which included all the territories from Paris to the Netherlands. In the Latin Quarter of Paris, people identified a "Picard Nation" (Nation Picarde) of students at Sorbonne University, most of whom actually came from Flanders. During the Hundred Years' War, Picardy was the centre of the Jacquerie peasant revolt in 1358.


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