Southern France

Southern France Le Midi (French) Lo Miègjorn (Occitan)
Calanques National Park between Marseille and Cassis, in Bouches-du-Rhône
Southern France, based on a split along the 45th parallel
Country	France

Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French as le Midi, is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin, Spain, the Mediterranean Sea and Italy. It includes: southern Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the west, Occitanie in the centre, the southern parts of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in the northeast, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in the southeast, as well as the island of Corsica in the southeast. Southern France is generally included into Southern Europe due to its association with the Mediterranean Sea.

The term Midi derives from mi ('middle') and di ('day') in Old French, comparable to the term Mezzogiorno to indicate Southern Italy, Miazăzi which is a synonym for South in Romanian, or meridional which is a synonym for south in Spanish. The time of midday was synonymous with the direction of south because in France, as in all of the Northern Hemisphere north of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun is in the south at noon. The synonymy existed in Middle French as well, where meridien can refer to both midday and south. The Midi is considered to start at Valence, hence the saying à Valence le Midi commence.

Geography

The area corresponds in large part to Occitania (Occitanie) in southern Europe, the historical and cultural region in which Occitan (Template:Lang-fr) – as distinct from the langues d'oïl of northern France – was the predominant language. Though part of Occitania, the regions of Auvergne and Limousin are not normally considered part of southern France. The largest cities of southern France are Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nice and Montpellier. The Pyrenees and French Alps are also located in the area, respectively in its southwestern and eastern parts. The island of Corsica, which is south of Continental France and just north of Sardinia, [Italy]], may also be included.

Tourism

Notable touristic landmarks include the Roman-era Pont du Gard and Arena of Nîmes, the Verdon Gorge in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the Canal du Midi, linking Toulouse and the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the natural regions of Larzac, Luberon and Camargue. The French Riviera is located in Southern France's southeastern quadrant. Several towns in Southern France are renowned for their architecture and surroundings, such as Roussillon, Ménerbes, Cordes-sur-Ciel, Gordes, Rocamadour, Rennes-le-Château, Les Baux-de-Provence, Lourmarin, Gassin, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Seillans, Crillon-le-Brave and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.

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  Nice is often considered to be Southern France's best known city abroad, although Marseille is the largest.
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  Coastal road near Sainte-Maxime
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  Lavender fields are a well known feature of the South of France, mainly located in Provence
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  Pont du Gard, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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  A view of vineyards in Vaucluse, producing Provence wine
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  Traditional landscape of the historical province of Béarn, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department
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  Village of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse near Avignon

Cuisine

The Midi has a cuisine different to that of the north of France, as well as of other Mediterranean countries. The major difference between Midi cuisine and that from the rest of France is in the use of olive oil instead of butter. The Midi agriculture supplies the olives for consumption as well as cooking, the ducks and geese to make foie-gras, haricot beans that are used in cassoulet, the sheep whose milk produces Roquefort cheese as well as tomatoes and melons. To accompany the richer food, the Midi also supplies much stronger wines, from Bordeaux, Cahors, Madiran, and Languedoc, all washed down with brandy from Armagnac.

Films

The following films are set in Southern France:

• To Catch a Thief (1955)
• Summer Holiday (1963)
• Pierrot le Fou (1965)
• Lacombe, Lucien (1974)
• French Connection II (1975)
• Never Say Never Again (1983)
• Under the Cherry Moon (1986)
• Jean de Florette (1986)
• Manon des Sources (1986)
• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
• Happiness Is in the Field (1995)
• Taxi (1998)
• Chocolat (2000)
• The Transporter (2002)
• Swimming Pool (2003)
• Le Grand Voyage (2004)
• Priceless (2006)
• The Grocer's Son (2007)
• Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)
• Amer (2009)
• Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

See also

• Occitania
• Gascony
• Béarn
• Northern Basque Country
• Mediterranean Sea
• Northern Catalonia
• Novempopulania
• Corsica
• Southern Italy
• Southern Europe
• Vichy France