Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region of France created by the territorial reform of French Regions in 2014; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into effect on 1 January 2016, after the regional elections in December 2015.

The region covers an area of more than 69711 km2, making it the third largest in metropolitan France, with a population of 7,695,264, second only to Île-de-France.

Toponymy
The text of the territorial reform law gives interim names for most of the merged regions, combining the names of their constituent regions separated by hyphens. Permanent names would be proposed by the new regional councils and confirmed by the Conseil d'État by 1 October 2016.

The interim name of the new administrative region was a hyphenated placename, composed of the historic region of Auvergne, the river Rhône, and the French Alps (Alpes). The same name has been chosen as the definitive name, which was officialized by the Conseil d'État on 28 September 2016.

Geography
The region borders Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur to the south, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté to the north, Nouvelle-Aquitaine to the west, Switzerland (Cantons of Geneva, Valais and Vaud) and Italy (Aosta Valley and Piedmont) to the northeast and east.

Departments
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes comprises twelve departments : Ain, Allier, Ardèche, Cantal, Drôme, Haute-Loire, Haute-Savoie, Isère, Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Rhône, Savoie

Major communities

 * Lyon (500,715; region prefecture)
 * Saint-Étienne (171,260)
 * Grenoble (155,637)
 * Villeurbanne (145,150; in Lyon's suburbs)
 * Clermont-Ferrand (139,860)

Politics
The region is governed by the regional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes consisting of 204 members. The current regional council was elected in regional elections on 6 and 13 December 2015, with the list of Laurent Wauquiez consisting of The Republicans (LR), the Democratic Movement (MoDem), and Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) securing an absolute majority of 113 seats.