In return, Gard was assigned the fishing port of Aigues Mortes, which gave the department its own outlet to the Gulf of Lion on the Mediterranean Sea.

Several luxurious hotels were built, and the improved market access provided by the railways also encouraged, initially, a rapid growth in wine growing.

Gard is part of the region of Occitanie and is surrounded by the departments of Hérault, Lozère, Aveyron, Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse and Ardèche.

The region has also been subject to some of the highest recorded temperatures in France's history as climate change alters summer heat.

Gard is also home to the source of Perrier, a carbonated mineral water sold both in France and internationally on a large scale.