Brive-la-Gaillarde

Brive-la-Gaillarde (Limousin dialect of Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 75,579 in 2019.

Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle. In French popular culture, the town is associated with a song by Georges Brassens.

History
Even though the inhabitants settled around the 1st century, the city only started to grow much later. From around the 5th century onwards, the original city began to develop around a church dedicated to Saint-Martin-l'Espagnol. During the 12th century walls were built around the city and during the Hundred Years' War a second wall was built. These fortifications no longer exist and have been replaced by boulevards.

The commune was named "Brive" until 1919, when it was renamed "Brive-la-Gaillarde". The word "Gaillarde" (still used in current French) probably stands for bravery or strength in the city's name, but it can also refer to the city's walls. Brive now extends outside of its original boundaries into Malemort and Ussac.

During World War II, Brive-la-Gaillarde was a regional capital of the Resistance, acting as a seat of several clandestine information networks and several of the principal resistance movements, including the Armée secrète (or "Secret Army") and the Mouvements Unis de la Résistance (or "United Movements of the Resistance").

Brive-la-Gaillarde was the first city of Occupied France to liberate itself by its own means, on 15 August 1944. For this, the city received the "Croix de guerre 1939–1945" military decoration.

The medieval centre is mainly a commercial district with retail shops and various cafés. It is also the location of the city hall, the main police station, and the Labenche museum. One notable landmark outside the inner city is the Pont Cardinal, a bridge which used to be a crossing point for travelers from Paris to Toulouse.

Administration
The most recent mayors of Brive-la-Gaillarde were:
 * 1966–1995: Jean Charbonnel
 * 1995–2008: Bernard Murat
 * 2008–present: Philippe Nauche

Transport
Brive-la-Gaillarde railway station offers connections to Limoges, Périgueux, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Paris and several regional destinations. The A20 motorway connects Brive with Limoges and Toulouse, the A89 with Bordeaux.

Brive–Souillac Airport lies south of the city. It was opened in 2010 to replace the older Brive-La Roche Airport.

Sport
The city is home to a rugby union team, CA Brive. It also hosted the 2009 Junior World Rowing Championships.

Notable inhabitants

 * Guillaume Dubois (1656–1723), cardinal and statesman
 * Jean-Baptiste Treilhard (born 3 January 1742 in Brive-la-Gaillarde – died December 1810 in Paris) was a French jurist and politician at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century.
 * Nicolas Ernault des Bruslys, born on 7 August 1757 in Brive-la-Gaillarde and died on 25 September 1809 in Reunion, is a French general of the Revolution and the Empire.
 * Pierre André Latreille (1762–1833), entomologist
 * Guillaume Marie Anne Brune (1763–1815), marshal of France
 * Alceste De Ambris (born 15 September 1874 to Licciana Nardi, and died December 9, 1934, in Brive-la-Gaillard), an Italian politician and syndicalist.
 * Edmond Michelet (1899–1970), politician, leader of the Movement Combat Limousin; arrested by the Gestapo in Brive in February 1943; died in the village of Marcillac, the town of Brive.
 * Louis Néel (1904–2000), physicist, Nobel Prize 1970, died in Brive
 * Robert Margerit (1910–1988), writer.
 * Michel Labrousse (1912–1988), scholar of Roman history
 * David Feuerwerker (1912–1980) was a rabbi and professor of French Jewish history (Geneva, 2 October 1912 – Montreal, 20 June 1980).
 * Antoinette Feuerwerker (1912–2003) Belgian lawyer and educator, wife of David Feuerwerker; Member of the Combat movement in Limousin alongside Edmond Michelet.
 * Patrick Sebastien (born 1953), imitator, actor, singer, television host.
 * Xavier Patier (1958– ), civil servant and writer
 * Cédric Villani (1973– ), mathematician; Fields Medalist in 2010
 * Cédric Heymans (1978– ), French international rugby union player
 * Dimitri Yachvili (1980– ), French international rugby union player
 * Marine Serre (1991– ), French fashion designer
 * Damian Penaud (1996– ), French international rugby union player

Twin towns – sister cities
Brive-la-Gaillarde is twinned with:


 * Guimarães, Portugal
 * 🇨🇦 Joliette, Canada
 * 🇩🇪 Lauf an der Pegnitz, Germany
 * 🇺🇦 Melitopol, Ukraine
 * 🇲🇱 Sikasso, Mali