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Hautes-Alpes (Department, France)

Flag of Hautes-Alpes - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 2 September 2026

Municipalities

Intermunicipal authorities

See also:

Administrative data

Code: 05
Region: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Traditional province: Dauphiné
Bordering departments: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Drôme, Isère, Savoie
Bordering country: Italy (Region Piedmont)

Area: 5,549 km²Population (2023): 146,467 inhabitants

Préfecture: Gap
Sous-préfecture: Briançon
Subdivisions: 2 arrondissements, 15 cantons, 164 municipalities.

The deparment is named "Upper-Alps" after the Alps mountains.
The canton of Barcillonnette was transferred to the department from the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in 1811.
The Treaty of Paris (10 February 1947), fixing the border between France and Italy, allocated Mount Thabor and Mount Chaberton to France, moving the border a few kilometers eastwards. General de Gaulle, then President of the Provisory Government, insisted so much on the annexation of Mount and Fort Chaberton that Georges Bidault, Minister of the Foreign Affairs, coined the word "chabertonisme", as the trend by the General to stick to insignificant details slowing down the negociation process between France and Italy.

Ivan Sache, 11 November 2009

Flag of Hautes-Alpes

In 2015, General Councils were renamed to Departmental Councils. The logo of Hautes-Alpes was modified with the words "Le département", and the colour and font of the wording had been changed.
See here a photo (2025) of the flag with the post-2015 logo of he Departmental council.

Olivier Touzeau, 2 September 2026

Flag of the former General Council

Flag of the General Council of Hautes-Alpes - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 2 September 2026

The General Council of Hautes-Alpes used a white flag with the Council's logo in the center.
The logo, unveiled on 29 September 2003, uses red and yellow shades to symbolize the department's nickname, "The Latin Alps". The logo is made of a red square with convex sides, featuring an ibex standing on a lavender field, in front of a white mountain surmounted by a yellow sun. Below is the writing "Hautes Alpes" (big black letters) / Conseil Général (smaller, red letters).

Former flag of the General Council of Hautes-Alpes - Image by Ivan Sache, 23 September 2009

Before 2003, the General Council used a white flag with another logo, mostly blue, white and yellow.

Pascal Vagnat, Dominique Cureau & Ivan Sache, 23 September 2009