Charente (Saintongeais: Chérente, Occitan: Charanta) is a department in southwestern France named after the Charente River.
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Charente is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the former province of Angoumois, west and south of Saintonge.
The department is part of the current region of Poitou-Charentes. It is surrounded by the departments of Vienne, Haute-Vienne, Dordogne, Charente-Maritime, and Deux-Sèvres. It contains part of the geographical regions of Poitou and Limousin. Its capital is Angoulême.
The inhabitants of the department are called Charentais.
The President of the General Council is Michel Boutant of the Socialist Party.
| Party | seats | |
|---|---|---|
| • | Socialist Party | 15 |
| Union for a Popular Movement | 6 | |
| Miscellaneous Right | 6 | |
| • | Miscellaneous Left | 6 |
| • | French Communist Party | 2 |
Cognac and pineau are two of the major agricultural products. They also produce excellent butter. But the Charentaise slipper is the 2nd most well-known product (after cognac).
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