Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques in the context of "Col du Pourtalet"

Nouvelle-Aquitaine (French pronunciation: [nuvɛl akitɛn] ) is the largest administrative region in France by area, located in the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. It was created in 2014 from the merger of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes in a territorial reform. The region covers 84,035.7 km (32,446.4 sq mi), representing more than 1⁄7 of Metropolitan France, and had a population of 6,033,952 in 2020. The new region was formally established on 1 January 2016, following the regional elections in December 2015.

The region is larger in area than any other French region, including overseas regions such as French Guiana, and has a landmass that is slightly greater than Austria. Bordeaux is the prefecture and largest city; its metropolitan area has about 850,000 inhabitants. The region has 25 major urban areas, among which the most important after Bordeaux are Bayonne (288,000 inhabitants), Limoges (283,000), Poitiers (255,000), Pau (241,000) and La Rochelle (206,000), as well as eleven major clusters.

The Count of Foix ruled the County of Foix, in what is now Southern France, during the Middle Ages. The House of Foix eventually extended its power across the Pyrenees mountain range, joining the House of Bearn and moving their court to Pau in Béarn. Count Francis Phoebus became King of Navarre in 1479. The last count was King Henry III of Navarre, after whose accession to the French throne the county entered the French royal domain.

To this day, the president of France is considered an unofficial successor of the count (as the current ruler of the French state) as co-prince of Andorra.

Charles XIV John (Swedish: Karl XIV Johan; 26 January 1763 – 8 March 1844) was King of Sweden and Norway from 1818 until his death in 1844 and the first monarch of the Bernadotte dynasty. In Norway, he is known as Charles III John (Norwegian: Karl III Johan); before he became royalty in Sweden, his name was Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte. During the Napoleonic Wars, he participated in several battles as a Marshal of France.

Born in Pau in the region of southern France known as Béarn, Bernadotte joined the French Royal Army in 1780. Following the outbreak of the French Revolution, he demonstrated great military talent, rising rapidly through the ranks and becoming a brigadier general by 1794. He served with distinction in Italy and Germany, and was briefly Minister of War. His relationship with Napoleon was turbulent; nevertheless, Napoleon named him a Marshal of the Empire on the proclamation of the French Empire. Bernadotte played a significant role in the French victory at Austerlitz, and was made Prince of Pontecorvo as a reward. His marriage to Désirée Clary, whose sister was married to Joseph Bonaparte, made Bernadotte a member of the extended Imperial family.

Pyrénées-Atlantiques (French pronunciation: [pi.ʁe.nez‿at.lɑ̃.tik] ; Gascon Occitan: Pirenèus Atlantics; Basque: Pirinio Atlantikoak) is a department located in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan France. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlantic Ocean, it covers the French Basque Country and the Béarn. It is divided in three arrondissements and its prefecture is Pau. In 2019, it had a population of 682,621.

The House of Bernadotte is the royal family of Sweden, founded there in 1818 by King Charles XIV John of Sweden. It was also the royal family of Norway between 1818 and 1905. Its founder was born in Pau in southern France as Jean Bernadotte. Bernadotte, who had been made a General of Division and Minister of War for his service in the French Army during the French Revolution, and Marshal of the French Empire and Prince of Pontecorvo under Napoleon, was adopted by the elderly King Charles XIII of Sweden, who had no other heir and whose Holstein-Gottorp branch of the House of Oldenburg thus was soon to be extinct on the Swedish throne. The current king of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, is a direct descendant of Charles XIV John.

Béarn (US: /beɪˈɑːrn/; French: [beaʁn] ; Occitan: Bearn [beˈaɾ] or Biarn; Basque: Bearno or Biarno; Latin: Benearnia or Bearnia) is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Basque provinces of Soule, Lower Navarre and Labourd, the Principality of Bidache, as well as small parts of Gascony, it forms the current Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. The capitals of Béarn were successively Beneharnum (until 841), Morlaàs (from c. 1100), Orthez (from the second half of the 13th century) and then Pau (beginning in the mid-15th century).

Béarn is bordered by the Basque provinces of Soule and Lower Navarre to the west, Gascony (Landes and Armagnac) to the north, Bigorre to the east, in addition to Spain (Aragon) to the south.

European route E80, also known as the Trans-European Motorway or TEM, is an A-Class West-East European route, extending from Lisbon, Portugal to Gürbulak, Turkey, on the border with Iran. The road connects 10 countries and has a length of approximately 6,102 kilometres (3,792 mi). At its eastern end it joins end-on with Asian Highway AH1 which continues all the way to Tokyo, Japan.

Tony Estanguet (French pronunciation: [ɛstɑ̃gɛ]; born 6 May 1978 in Pau) is a French slalom canoeist and a three-time Olympic champion in C1 (canoe single). He competed at the international level from 1994 to 2012.

He successfully led Paris's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics and served as the head of the organising committee for those games.

François Bayrou (French: [fʁɑ̃swa bajʁu] ; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from December 2024 to September 2025. He has presided over the European Democratic Party (EDP) since 2004 and the Democratic Movement (MoDem) since 2007. A centrist, he was a candidate in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 presidential elections.

From 1993 to 1997, Bayrou was Minister of National Education in three successive governments. He was also a member of the National Assembly for a seat in Pyrénées-Atlantiques from 1986 to 2012 with brief interruptions and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2002. He has been mayor of Pau since 2014.