Aisne

Département in the Picardy region of France, area 7,378 sq km/2,849 sq mi; population (1999 est) 535,300. Aisne is an agricultural département, producing cereals, potatoes, sugar beet, vines, and livestock. The terrain is generally flat; wooded in the north and undulating in the south. About half the workforce is employed in the service sector and one-third in manufacturing industries, producing precision tools, electrical appliances, textiles, chemicals, and cosmetics. Three rivers flow through the region: the Marne, Oise, and Aisne. The administrative centre is Laon.

Aisne is divided into five districts: Chateau-Thierry, Laon, Saint-Quentin, Soissons, and Vervins. It is made up of 42 cantons, and a network of 816 municipalities, and is formed from parts of the former provinces of Picardy and Ile-de-France. The départment has a strong tradition of Gothic architecture, particularly in the towns of Laon and Soissons.