Gard

Gard is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019; its prefecture is Nîmes. The department is named after the river Gardon. In recent decades of the 21st century, local administration and French speakers have returned to the original Occitan name of the river, Gard. It is part of a revival of Occitan culture. History In classical times the Gard area was settled by Romans and their allies. They built the Via Domitia across the region in 118 BC. Centuries later, on 4 March 1790, Gard was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution. It comprised the ancient province of Languedoc.