Aisne

Aisne is a department in the north of France, in the Hauts-de-France region. It is named after the Aisne river, a tributary of the Oise. Its prefecture is Laon.
History.
Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with Laon as its capital. It was formed from parts of the former provinces of Île-de-France (Laon, Soissons, Noyon,and Valois), Picardy (Thiérache Vermandois), and Champagne (Brie and Omois).
It was divided into six districts: Château-Thierry, Chauny, Laon, Saint-Quentin, Soissons and Vervins.
In 1800, with the creation of the "arrondissements" in France, the six districts were changed into five "arrondissements": Château-Thierry, Laon, Saint-Quentin, Soissons and Vervins.
On 10 September 1926, the "arrondissement" of Château-Thierry was eliminated but in 1942 it was again made an "arrondissement".
Geography.
Aisne is part of the Hauts-de-France region. It has an area of .
The department borders with Belgium and 6 other departments in 3 regions:
The territory of the Aisne department is formed by low plateaus and small hills. The highest point in the department, and in the Hauts-de-France region, is "Le Chêne Nain" () in the Ardennes forest on the border with the Ardennes department and near the border with Belgium; it is high.
The southern part of the department is the geographical region known as "la Brie poilleuse", a drier plateau known for its dairy products and Brie cheese.
Several rivers flow through the department; the main rivers are the Scheldt/Escaut, the Aisne, the Marne, the Ourcq, the Vesle, the Somme, the Oise, and the Serre.
Climate.
The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Laon is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Marine West Coast Climate) and of the subtype "Cfb".
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Laon is . The month with the most precipitation on average is July with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is March with an average of .
In Laon, there is an average of of snow. The month with the most snow is February, with of snow.
The average temperature for the year in Laon is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of .
Administration.
Aisne is managed by the "Departmental Council of Aisne" in Laon. The department is part of the Hauts-de-France region.
Administrative divisions.
There are 5 "arrondissements" (districts), 21 "cantons" and 804 "communes" (municipalities) in Aisne.
The following is a list of the 21 cantons of the Aisne department, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
Demographics.
The inhabitants of Aisne are known, in French, as "Axonais" (women: "Axonaises"), from the Celtic name of the Aisne river, "Axona".
Aisne had a population, in 2014, of 539,783, for a population density of inhabitants/km2. The "arrondissement" of Laon, with 165,489 inhabitants, is the "arrondissement" with the most inhabitants.
Evolution of the population in Aisne
The 10 "communes" in the department with more inhabitants are: