Tonneins

Tonneins
The Garonne river at Tonneins The Garonne river at Tonneins
Coat of arms of Tonneins Coat of arms
Tonneins
Location within Aquitaine region Tonneins
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes
Department	Lot-et-Garonne
Arrondissement	Marmande
Canton	Tonneins
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes du Val de Garonne
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Jean-Pierre Moga
Area1	34.78 km2 (13.43 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	9,141
• Density	260/km2 (680/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	47310 / 47400
Elevation	21–166 m (69–545 ft) (avg. 39 m or 128 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Tonneins is a town in the Lot-et-Garonne department of south-western France. It stands above the river Garonne, between Marmande to the west and Agen to the east, and is the first major town below the confluence of the Lot and Garonne Rivers after which the department is named.

Until the early 2000s, it was the tobacco capital of France. It is known for its quays alongside which the tobacco barges were previously moored. When the tobacco factory closed down in 2004 and production moved to Spain, the town was badly affected economically with the loss of more than 500 jobs. The surrounding countryside still contains many wooden sheds, known locally as 'sechoirs', formerly used to dry the tobacco leaves. The commune of Tonneins is largely agricultural, the principal crops now being maize, rapeseed and sunflowers.

See also

• Communes of the Lot-et-Garonne department

Twin towns

• Thann, France, since 27 June 1997
• Zoppola, Italy, since 8 August 1982